In the Hidden Clouds
by Kai Phocks
Summary: A new, dangerous mission has the villages of Konoha and Suna teaming up with Kumo.
1. The First Time in Ten Years

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter1: The First Time in Ten Years**_

"Mamime-sensei," Tamima called out. Mamime looked up from her book to see her old student, Nobunaga Tamima, running up to her. Mamime smiled a bit, it had been almost six years since she had seen her old student, and she had grown quite a bit. Tamima took a seat across from Mamime, "hey, hey, guess what Mamime-sensei," she said, with a bit of enthusiasm.

"What, what," Mamime said, "Did you finally beat your older brother in shogi or something."

"No, no," Tamima said, "I've been selected for the Chuunin exams!" Mamime wasn't surprised. Tamima was an excellent student, and a member of the noble Nobunaga family, so it wasn't a surprise her team was nominated for the first Chuunin Exam in ten years. Mamime frowned as she remembered the last Chuunin Exam, which she had been a part of. That was when the war between the Hidden Mist, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Cloud villages had broken out due to the results of the exam.

That war had lasted until only recently, when the Seventh Raikage awoke from his fifteen year coma and settled the war on the spot by summoning the Dragon of Lightning. Now, the three villages bore an uneasy cease-fire, and had adopted the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand's Chuunin Exam methods, which seemed effective in preventing wars (although, the Leaf/Sand Chuunin Exam two or so years ago was almost a disaster thanks to the Hidden Sound village).

"Anyway," Tamima went on, "I just wanted to let you know. I mean, you were one of the last of our shinobi to be promoted to Chuunin from your exam results, right," Mamime nodded, "I was just wondering, also, what's it like?"

"I wouldn't know," Mamime said, "after all, the exam I took was totally different than the Hidden Leaf's exam. But, their exam type is very effective at producing the best shinobi, so you shouldn't worry too much. If you pass, it's definitely because you were the very best at what you do."

"But my results depend on my teammates, aye," Tamima said, "Souma-sensei is good, but he's a Jounin, so he can't help us, the other two, Myourin and Akira, have their merits, but they're not too powerful."

"There's more to the Chuunin Exam than pure strength," Mamime said, "you need wits, and those two have plenty of those. You have the skills to back up their wit, that's why I made you three teammates."

"Yeah, that's true," Tamima said, "heh, anyway, thanks a lot, now I can take the exam without too much fear." Tamima got up and headed off, waving good-bye as she went. Mamime would have to watch this exam closely, especially considering the "neutral parties" that were going to be acting as the examiners this time around.


	2. Chuunin Exam, Test 1

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 2: Chuunin Exam, Test 1**_

Tamima met up with her team just outside the examination room. It was just about time for the exam to begin, and Tamima could hardly wait. Souma-sensei would be proud of them, Tamima could just tell. She knew she would try her hardest, and so did Souma-sensei.

"All right, everyone, hurry up and pay attention," Tamima looked up and started. The examiner was a Leaf Chuunin? _What is a Leaf shinobi doing here,_ Tamima asked herself. "You're all probably wondering why I'm here," the Leaf guy said, "Basically, although your nations are in alliance, they still don't trust each other. So, the Hidden Leaf and Hidden Sand were called in to be the examiners of this test. My name is Nara Shikamaru, and I'll be the examiner on this first test." This raised some chatter among the Genins, some of which were veterans of the war against the Hidden Leaf which ended several years earlier.

"Some of you are probably opposed to this since you are veterans of the old wars, as such, all the Chuunin and Jounin examiners on this test have been chosen from groups that _did not_ fight in that war," Nara went on, "just as a reassurance, I'll have you all know I was only three years old when the war ended, and couldn't have possibly have been a part of it." Most of chatter died down, but some groups still persisted."

"All right, listen up," he said, "the exam you're about to take has several rules that must be followed. First off, you will take a number from this box in front of me," Nara, at that moment, pulled a box out from beneath the desk, "when you get a number, show it to one of the Chuunin examiners on the side of the room and take your seat."

The Genin went up to the desk and took a number. Tamima drew number one hundred eight. _Wow, lucky me,_ she thought. She went over to the Chuunin examiner near the wall. She was a strange one, her eyes were white and she seemed to have no pupils. _Well, well, a Hyuga,_ Tamima thought,_ didn't expect one of them to be a shinobi, especially a member of the main family._ Tamima took her seat. She was separated from her teammates by a good distance, and it would be difficult to help one another. Not that it mattered all that much.

"All right, listen up," Nara said, "here are the rules of this exam. All candidates start with ten points. Each question is worth one point. If you get a question wrong, a point is deducted from your base score. For instance, if you get two questions wrong, two points are deducted from your ten points and you are left with eight," Nara waited as the Genins took the info in, "also, if you are caught cheating, you will automatically lose two points. The Chuunin examiners on the sides of the room will be watching closely, so do as an honorable shinobi would do, and take this test with all your might. Those that lose all their points will be failed immediately. Also, passing scores will be judged by combining the scores of all three teammates. And another thing, if one teammate fails, the whole team fails. The test has nine questions; the tenth will be given at the forty-five minute mark. You have one hour, begin."

Tamima took a quick glance around. With six years as a Genin, and experience in full combat, most of these questions were beyond easy for her. As was this system. There was no fooling her; this system was designed to test a Genin's data gathering ability. That was the purpose of the deduction system. No doubt about it. Tamima finished the test early, and by the time she was done, nearly three quarters of the teams were failed. _Pathetic,_ she muttered. There were only fifteen teams left, a brutal exam, and worse examiners.

"All right," Nara said, "it's time for the tenth question. However, before we begin, there are several rules that should be noted." Most of the remaining teams sighed, more rules, "first, you must decide if you are willing to take this test. Those that don't feel they can answer this next question should leave now, and fail along with their entire team."

"Idiot," one of the Genin yelled, "why would we not take it then?"

"Because," Nara said, "if you fail this question, you will _never_ be allowed to advance to the Chuunin rank." A hush fell across the group, as the harsh reality of their predicament came to light. Five Genin left, reducing the teams down to a mere ten teams.

"Is that all," Nara said, scanning the group, "well then, with the losers gone, there's only one thing left to do."

"And that would be," Tamima said, "To give us the next question?"

"Nope," Nara said, "all that's left is to pass you guys. Congrats, you all move on to the second stage of this test."


	3. Chuunin Exam, Phase 2

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 3: Chuunin Exam, Second Phase**_

"Where did this place come from," Tamima said. The massive forest in front of her hadn't been there a week earlier. The first phase of the exam had been yesterday, and now they were at phase two. The new examiners were two Jounins from Hidden Sand, named Temari and Kankuro. They scanned the ten teams as they slowly arrived at the testing range.

"All right, pay attention," Temari said, slamming her fan into the ground to get everyone's attention, "this test will be, by far, the absolute most difficult. At the most, only half of you will pass, and some of you may even die," some of the Genin audibly gulped, clearly afraid.

"All of you will be required to sign a 'release of responsibility' before taking this phase of the exam," Kankuro said, "the last thing we need is your family's holding your deaths over our heads," at that point, another Sand ninja began handing out the papers."

"The rules of this test are as follows," Temari began, "each of the ten teams here will receive one of these scrolls," Temari held up two separate scrolls, one white with the symbol for "ten," and another one brown with the symbol for "chi."

"There are five each of these scrolls," Kankuro went on, "five teams will be carrying a 'ten' scroll and five teams will be carrying a 'chi' scroll. In the center of this forest is a tower. In order to pass this test, you will need to reach that tower with one each of these scrolls."

"So you mean we have to fight each other," Myourin said.

"It's more than that," Temari continued, "This forest is one of the most dangerous places on this planet. In here are multitudes of man eating beasts, venomous animals, poisonous plants, man eating plants, and a thousand other, more horrible ways to die. Fill out the contracts and drop off all three over there to receive your scrolls."

"Finally," Kankuro said, "there are two other rules. All three members of your team must arrive at the tower with both scrolls. You'll be in that forest for five days, and no one is allowed to quit in the middle. The second rule, you are not to open the scrolls before you reach the tower. As a Chuunin, you will be required to escort classified information during missions. This test is to see whether or not you are trustworthy."

Tamima's team got their scroll and when to the gate they chose. They had a "chi" scroll, which meant they had to look for a "ten" scroll.

"All right," Tamima said, once they had their scroll, "I'll hold onto this since I can put up the best fight. Myourin, you'll lead the team once we start the exam," Myourin nodded. He was the best strategist on the team, while Akira was the most acute. Meanwhile, Tamima was the brute force. An instructor led them to a gate labeled "seven."

"The exam begins now," Temari said, "get your asses to that Tower, and make sure you have both scrolls when you get there."


	4. The Kill Zone

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 4: The Kill Zone**_

Two of the five days had passed before Tamima's team found any rivals to battle it out. They happened upon a team who were being lazy in a clearing.

"I wonder who they think they're fooling," Akira said as he scanned the clearing, "traps in most areas surrounding them, must be rookies."

"No," Myourin said, "they've not yet seen real combat is all. There traps are well set and well hidden, an ordinary ninja might not even notice them."

"But we're not ordinary," Tamima said, "Myourin, got a plan?" Myourin focused on the three Genin in the middle area, and then slit his thumb on one of his kunai.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu," Myourin placed his hand on the ground and summoned Renkun, one of the tanuki his family was infamous for summoning into battle situations. "Hey, those traps won't spring on you, get in there and find out which scroll they have." Renkun nodded and quietly strolled up, acting as if he were just an ordinary tanuki and looking for food. The Genin in the clearing paid no attention to him.

"So," one of them said, "we need the chi scroll, right, so why are we sitting around here wasting time?"

"Because," the one on the left said, "that forest is dangerous, traveling over dangerous terrain that you know nothing about is a dangerous mistake. We know people are looking for our scroll. We wait for the enemy to come to us."

"All right," Myourin said once he had this information, "two things are clear from this. One, they have the ten scroll that we need. Second, they know we're here and are trying to draw us out."

"They're not so dumb after all," Akira said, "now that I look more closely, there are traps I missed earlier. These guys are veterans, no doubt. But…"

"They don't hold a candle against us," Tamima finished the sentence.

"That's about what I was thinking," Myourin said, "but if they knew we were here, then that means they're pretty tough," the other two nodded slightly, "Tamima," Tamima looked over at Myourin, "I want you to take out the guy on the left immediately. Use the Omote Renge for that," Tamima nodded, Myourin turned to Akira, "you use the Lightning Slam no Jutsu, Akira, on the guy to the right."

"You sure," Akira said, "I mean, I thought we were planning to avoid killing during this exam."

"I didn't say kill him," Myourin said, "Just knock him out." Akira nodded. "I'll take the guy in the middle with my Shintenshin no Jutsu."

_First Gate, Open Gate, Release_, Tamima whispered to herself. She only had a few moments to make her move before the released chakra dissipated; she had to make the first move, right now.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu," Myourin projected his spirit into the middle guy.

_Now_, Tamima charged forward and got underneath the guy on the left, and with a swift kick launched him into the air. _Not over_, getting beneath him, she pounded him ever harder with kick after kick, sending him higher into the air. _Now_, _Second Gate, Energy Gate, Release._ She got behind him and grappled him, flipped him over and drove him head first into the ground.

"Omote Renge," two down. The third guy was already moving, but he only got a few steps before a massive bolt of lightning struck him down.

"Lightning Slam no Jutsu." All three were down, and Tamima's team had both scrolls.

"All right," the third guy, under Myourin's control, said, as he pulled out the ten scroll, "looks like we got what we came for, Akira, catch," he threw the scroll over to Akira as Tamima staggered out of the clearing, "Tamima," Myourin said as he returned to his body, "why didn't you use the Muscle Resuscitation no Jutsu, you're in bad shape now."

"Sorry," Tamima said, "I got hold of that guy and realized how strong he was. I was worried that, if I redirected my charka, I wouldn't be able to knock him out."

"Well, whatever," Myourin said, "we'll rest for a day and head toward the tower. Akira, she'll need help to keep up with us." Akira nodded and went over to help Tamima, "come on, let's get going."


	5. Phase 3, Myourin vs Kureni

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 5: Phase 3, Myourin vs. Kureni**_

"Has it really been one month," Myourin muttered, "time definitely flew by while I was training." Only three teams had passed the second phase of the Chuunin exam. One team from each of the three villages: Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Mist. It was finally time for the final phase of the exam to begin. It was also a legendary moment in world history. It was the first time all five (well, in this case, six) of the Kage were united in a single location.

The recently appointed Kazekage, Hokage, Tsuchikage, Mizukage, and both of the Raikage (the Sixth and the Seventh). Also arriving to view the exam were the leaders of many of the nations. This would be an exciting one. Unfortunately for Tamima, her match was at the very end of the first round, meaning she had to sit through four other matches before hand.

"All right, listen up," the Jounin examiner said, "As you well know, this final phase of the exam is a one on one tournament between the remaining candidates. As the examiner for this test, Hyuga Neji, I will now inform you of the rules. There are no rules." Some of the Genin smirked over this; the guy had them for a moment there. "The match will end when one of the fighters falls unconscious, dies, or admits defeat. In order to lessen the body count, I will stop matches where the outcome has become obvious. The first match is between Yamakara Myourin and Hirokino Kureni, everyone else, please move to the waiting room."

"Good luck, Myourin," Akira said. Myourin smiled and nodded.

"Don't lose to that guy, Kureni," one of the Mist ninjas said to his partner, "we need to impress our clients after all." Kureni nodded.

"Well, don't hold it against me, but I don't go easy, not even on girls," Myourin said.

"Whatever," Kureni replied, "all that matters is avenging my brother's death." Myourin started at that reply. Then he remembered killing a man named Hirokino during the wars.

"So, that guy was your brother then," he said, "and if you know it was me, then you know who I am."

"I know your name, that's all I need," she said.

"Well, some people in the Hidden Cloud call me the 'Link Master' cause I fight with weapons that are made up of links," Myourin said, pulling some chains from his satchel, and wrapping around his arm.

"That kind of weapon makes a great deal of noise," Kureni said, "not very well suited for a ninja to use." Myourin smirked and whipped the chains on his left arm, making no noise what-so-ever, "but…"

"This is the chain I used when I killed your brother," he said, "I'm a master of hiding jutsus. One of them allows me to reduce the noise I make to the point where I make almost no noise at all. And it's not changing the pitch of the noise; it's actually eliminating the noise. Maybe you can get your revenge, but more than likely, I'll just strangle you like I did your brother."

"We'll see about that," Kureni said, "I'm not nearly as weak as my brother was." Kureni charged head on, a big mistake. Myourin was about to make his move when she disappeared.

"What," was all he managed before she blasted out of the ground beneath him, landing a solid uppercut against his chin. Myourin staggered and regained his footing, "when did you…"

"When you were busy chatting with your friend over there," she said, pointing up at the waiting room, "even though I'm a Hidden Mist ninja, I'm a master of earth ninjutsu. It was a big help for reconnaissance during the wars."

_This girl has good qualities, she'll definitely pass this final exam,_ Myourin said. That was irrelevant, though. Right now, he had to figure his way out of this. His chains were worthless against her. She could just burrow underground when he tried to wrap her up. There was always a way out, though. _Okay, I just have to get her back underground. This'll be dangerous, but her dodging ability is exquisite, I don't have much of an option._

"Come at me if you dare," Myourin said. Kureni charged and disappeared just like earlier. _Now is my chance. First Gate, Open Gate, Release._ Myourin focused the blast of chakra into his fist and slammed it into the ground, breaking everything up and revealing Kureni's position. He also broke his right hand at the same time. _Now, the Second Gate, Energy Gate, Release._ Myourin flung his chains straight at Kureni with blistering force. Kureni, however, dodged.

"That was impressive," she said, "but not good enough to beat me."

"Now, the Third Gate, Life Gate, Release," at that instant, lightning erupted from his body and went into the ground, where it found the chains. "Checkmate," he said. The chains blasted from the ground and wrapped around Kureni, electrocuting her with the excess energy. She fell unconscious as her body suffered the same effects of having a heart attack. "By opening the Life Gate, I can create lightning powerful enough to blast through the ground, while normal lightning would normally dissipate. I figured that I could do that if the chain missed. Always have a reserve plan. That's where you failed."

"This match is over," Hyuga said, "the winner is Yamakara Myourin."


	6. Phase 3, Seishino Ami vs Kuwabara Akio

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 6: Phase 3, Seishino Ami vs. Kuwabara Akio**_

The next match was about to begin, and it wasn't one most of the people were waiting for. The Seishino clan versus the Kuwabara clan was a horror story of the wars. Both clans had nearly slaughtered each other into extinction over the years of battle. Barely any survivors remained of those two clans. The fact that they were being allowed to participate in ninja activities was purely astounding.

_This could turn bad real quick_, Neji thought to himself,_ if these two really get going, they could easily get out of hand...Byakugan!_ Neji focused on the two fighters. If they got out of control, he would have to stop them. _I'll use Hakke if they start to move on their own._ "Listen up you two," he whispered toward them, "don't let the vendetta of your clans' control you during your match, or you'll never become Chuunin. Also, if you do let your ambitions get ahead of you, I will step in and stop the match. Your kind is legendary, even in the Hidden Leaf, for intentionally getting the innocent caught up in your personal war." With that said, Neji stood up and faced the crowd, "Seishino Ami versus Kuwabara Akio, begin!"

No words were exchanged as the two fighters charged each other. They struck at each other and vanished. Bunshin no Jutsu. They were quick, although they couldn't hide from Neji. Akio moved through the forest, while Ami had moved underground. _Predictable_, Neji muttered. After a few moments, Ami surfaced and tried to attack Akio, but hit a Kawarimi instead. _Are these two really veterans of the wars?_ Neji barely finished his sentence before the ground erupted beneath him and a torrent of lava came out and at him.

"Volcano no Jutsu," Ami called out. _Dammit, what is she…Keiten!_ Projecting his chakra out, Neji spun at high speed and deflected the lava long enough to leap out of harms way. Akio leapt into a tree and and formed a few seals.

"Now, Typhoon Canon no Jutsu," the river which bordered the arena exploded as the water was harnessed to cool the lava. "Are you insane," Akio said, "You could've killed someone!"

"That was the idea," Ami said, "I don't care who gets in the way, I'll avenge my clan."

"Not if I can help it," Neji said, leaping in front of her, Neji pointed at Ami, "if you do any such thing again, I won't hesitate to kill you. In a real battle, it is necessary to _avoid_ collateral damage. _A ninja will always push his emotions to the side, for he is a tool made for war._ Never forget your place." Ami growled at Neji, and Neji seriously considered hitting her with Hakke. He looked up at the Kages, who waved their hands to signify that the match would continue. "Now, continue the fight," Neji said.

Ami took a few steps forward before a massive wind picked up in the stadium. Neji used his chakra to hold himself in place, while the crowd huddled against their seats. Neji finally realized what was happening. _That's right, he used the **Typhoon** Canon no Jutsu, had he planned this from the beginning._

"You won't be able to hold your footing for long," Akio said, "While the people in the stands will experience some mild discomfort from these winds, you will be taking their full force. Let's see how long you can stand up against one hundred fifty mile per hour winds."

Ami was struggling to keep her footing. She seemed to have poor chakra control. Neji held himself easily. This Akio guy was good. He knew he could catch Ami off guard if he could distract her from the match, so he riled her up and forced Neji to step in. He was still using bystanders, just like his predecessors. It wasn't long before he, too, got out of hand.

The winds started picking up. They started to concentrate on Ami, and it wasn't long before the air pressure knocked her out. "That's enough," Neji said, "the fight is over." Akio didn't even hear him; he kept assaulting Ami even though she was out cold. Neji looked up at the Kages and received the affirmation. "Hakke Rokujyu Yonshou," Neji began striking Akio, each strike sealing up one of his Tenketsu, "Hakke Nishou… Yonshou… Hachishou…. Jyuurokushou….. Sanjyuunishou……..Rokujyuyonshou!" All sixty four of Akio Tenketsu have been sealed. With no place for his chakra to leave his body and thus control the typhoon, the winds died down.

"You…bastard," he managed to say.

"You crossed the line," Neji said, "if I hadn't taken you down, the Mizukage or your Jounin instructor would have. You'd already won the match. The wars are over; such grudges between clans will only lead to endless suffering. Believe me, I know."


	7. Phase 3, Hitashi Akira vs Kusenagi Sanzo

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 7: Phase 3, Hitashi Akira vs. Kusenagi Sanzo**_

"Well, wasn't that exciting," Akira mused.

"Exciting," Tamima replied. Akira twitched a bit and looked over at Tamima. He doubted he would ever get her. She was an odd one; her clothing style was testament to that. She always wore skin tight cloths, and brightly colored cloths at all. Her choice in hair styles was even odder. She kept her hair equal length at all times. Even her bangs were long, so much so that you couldn't see her face, at all. The only parts of her head that were ever visible, other than her hair, were her ears and, occasionally when she spoke, the bottom of her chin.

"The next match," Neji said from in the arena, "is Hitashi Akira versus Kusenagi Sanzo. Will the fighters please enter the middle of the arena?" Sanzo leapt down into the arena, while Akira decided he'd take the long way. When he finally arrived in the arena, Sanzo looked annoyed.

"Oi, oi," Sanzo said, "why so slow?"

"One does not rush into a fight," Akira said, "to be over eager for combat is to risk your own life needlessly."

"It's a damned fight," Sanzo replied, "You're risking your life anyway."

"Not necessarily," Akira replied, "if you enter a battle with some basic knowledge of your enemy, your chances of survival are greatly improved. During the month between the end of the exam's second phase and now, I took a great deal of time to gather info on all the participants, with the exception of my teammates, who I know quite well. I'm very acute, you see, very sensitive to my surroundings and can take in a multitude of information all at once. The information I gathered while we stood together in the waiting room, combined with what I learned during the last month, tells me I can take my time."

"Shut your trap," Sanzo roared, "I'll kill you."

"Third match," Neji said, "begin." Sanzo moved right away, charging headlong at Akira. He was definitely pissed, which was to Akira's advantage. _I wonder how this guy ever survived the wars, as easily excitable as he is._ Akira dodged, and swept Sanzo's feet out from beneath him. Sanzo staggered, but managed to keep his balance and came back at Akira almost immediately. _Too hasty,_ Akira moved with tremendous speed, getting behind Sanzo.

"Kumo Slashing Gale," a lightning fast blow to Sanzo's neck. He flew a few meters, landed, then rolled to a stop. Out cold. "It is well known that the Hidden Cloud village specializes in advanced Taijutsu techniques, mainly because of the wars and the destruction of many powerful clans that once made our village nearly impossible to overcome. Nearly all of our shinobi can move with speed that can normally only be used by releasing the Open Gate." Akira stopped his speech and looked up at Tamima, _especially that monster up there_, he whispered to himself.

"This match is over," Neji said, "the winner is Hitashi Akira."


	8. Back to Back Fight

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 8: Back to Back Fight**_

"The next fight will be between Toku Rei and Mito Jun," Neji said, "will these fighters please step into the arena." The next two combatants moved into the ring. Rei seemed a bit antsy, while Jun was in more of a calm state of mind. _This fight won't last long_, Myourin thought to himself. "Begin." Rei charged and struck at Jun, but his fist bounced off of some type of shield.

"What the," Rei didn't get to finish his sentence. Jun charged up and struck at Rei's chest, placing his palm flat.

"It's over," Jun said. There was a brief flash, and Rei fell to the ground. Neji walked over and checked over the guy. _Not dead_, he muttered_, but he's probably suffering from the same effects that a heart attack produces._ Neji looked up at Jun, _a devastating Jutsu, exceptionally well suited for assassinations. This guy has some talent._

"The winner is Mito Jun," Neji said, "and now, due to the uneven number of combatants, we will be holding the next match at this very instant. Nobunaga Tamima versus Mito Jun," Tamima jumped down from the waiting room and into the arena. Akira and Myourin cringed.

"Well," Myourin said, "as long as she doesn't use **those** jutsus, we should be fine."

"What do you mean," Akio said, "what are 'those jutsus?'" Akira and Myourin looked at each other, and then Akira turned toward Akio.

"Well," Akira said, "under normal circumstances, Tamima only ever fights with Taijutsu, her worst Jutsu."

"Why is that," Akio asked.

"Because," Akira went on, "she's a master of hundreds of Ninjutsu techniques. Many of which are otherwise forbidden." Akio's eyes widened a bit.

"You mean she's **that** Nobunaga Tamima," he managed to get out, hints of both awe and fear in his voice.

"Yeah," Akira said, "Sometimes called the "Monster of the Clouds," but more commonly known as "Nobunaga the Beast," Nobunaga Tamima, the strongest of this world's Genin, with the blood of a thousand enemies staining her hands." Everyone in the waiting room suddenly stared in disbelief.

"Under normal circumstance," Myourin continued, "she's just an ordinary Genin who does the grunt work on the battlefield. However, when she revealed she could use **those** Jutsus, she became quite the asset for our village. She was capable of facing down and even eradicating whole divisions of troops. Her name alone both increased the morale of our men, and struck an unspeakable fear within them. Because," Myourin paused, "when she uses **those** Jutsus, she loses the ability to distinguish friend from foe." A hush fell across the waiting room. _And with that guy's shield, she may decide to go beyond her normal Jutsus and use **those.**_

"Fifth match," Neji said, "Nobunaga Tamima versus Mito Jun, begin." Tamima threw a shuriken right away. It hit Mito's shield and did nothing. Tamima began circling around and throwing more shurikens, none of which got through. Next she moved in close and tried to break through with Taijutsu. That was about as successful as the shurikens. Then she drew a kunai and started to add slashes into her ordinary strikes. Nothing. At that moment, something caught Tamima's eye and she stopped. Jun capitalized and struck at Tamima's chest with the same move he hit Rei with. There was a flash and Tamima collapsed.

"Is that the best you've got," Jun said, "I though you were a member of- what the?" Jun stopped gloating as he noticed that Tamima's body was melting. "A Kawarimi," he muttered. He went over and grabbed a glob of the Kawarimi and smelled it, "paint? What the hell?" He threw the stuff on the ground and turned toward the wall of the arena, which was where Tamima stood, smiling rather evilly. _She was hiding over on the wall the whole time_, Jun thought, _but why did she pause the Kawarimi?_

"That technique," Tamima said, as she slowly walked up, "that shield. It doesn't fully encompass your body, does it?" Jun's eyes widened, _that's why she paused_, "I noticed a flash as the Paint Bunshin was hitting you, it was you tiny shield moving around to block the attacks. So, while your shield is automatic, and fast on the defense, it's not absolute like this Hyuga guys Keiten move he used earlier." _Damn it_, Jun thought, _this girl noticed that so easily? Who the hell is she?_

"Oh no," Akira said, "Here we go." Tamima moved in a flash, so fast no one even saw her movements. Jun felt a blow land on his secondary, smaller shield from behind him, turned, and then felt another blow at his front. _Fast_, he thought to himself. More strikes landed against the primary and secondary shield. She was starting to get through. _Impossible,_ he muttered, _at this speed, her muscles should be deteriorating at a high rate, and yet,_ the blows were landing quicker now, she made past both his primary, and secondary shields, and was now able to hit his tiny third shield, _her blows are coming more and more quickly. How can she-_

_**CRACK!**_

A hard fist landed against Jun's face as Tamima finally got through his shields. Jun was launched off of his feet and flew for several meters. He landed, shifted his weight, and leapt back onto his feet.

"What the hell are you," Jun asked.


	9. The One That Cannot be Stopped

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 9: The One That Cannot be Stopped**_

"What the Hell are you," Jun roared, "at that kind of pace, your muscles should've been torn to shreds." Tamima smiled evilly.

"I'm a Nobunaga, that's what I am," she replied, "You see, we Nobunagas have a unique bloodline limit. Our bodies are nothing short of chakra factories," Jun's expression froze in both disbelief and fear, "you see," Tamima went on, "the more active our bodies are, the more chakra we produce. Normally, there's a limit to exactly how much can be produced before the amount of chakra becomes hazardous to the body, however, that is countered by my villages special Ninjutsu."

"Special Ninjutsu," Jun asked.

"Yes, _Muscle Restoration no Jutsu_," Tamima said, "A unique Jutsu taught to the village's Taijutsu specialists. It allows a ninja to convert his chakra in muscle mass. Of course, it requires a great deal of fine control to be executed properly, which is why most of our ninjas finish battles quickly so they can use that jutsu to repair they damaged muscles." Jun's eyes narrowed, he had an idea of where this was going, "but, I found away to use it during battle, being the genius that I am."

"And that's how you are able to move at that amazing speed without destroying yourself," Jun said, "the faster you move, the more chakra your body produces due to your bloodline limit, and the more chakra you have, the more muscle mass you can repair."

"If I so desired," Tamima said, "I could easily open the Fourth Gate and grow new muscles in the middle of combat." _What horrifying mastery of her own abilities,_ Jun murmured, _I may have to use the Armor of Stone to counteract her capabilities._ "You're through," Jun chuckled, "just give up while you still have the ability to."

"No," Jun said, "I think I'll keep going. Although, I have to congratulate you, you're the first who has forced me to use my Armor of Stone."

"_Armor of Stone_," the Kazekage muttered.

"That guy," the Kazekage's bodyguard said, "has a jutsu style remarkably like yours, Kazekage-sama."

There was an explosion in the center of the ring as a massive boulder shot through the cooled lava rock that covered the arena floor, "Armor of Stone," Jun said. The boulder fractured and the pieces slowly covered, forming a massive, eighteen foot beast.

"Armor of Stone, indeed," Neji muttered. _This is more akin to Kankuro's Puppet no Jutsu than Gaara's Armor of Sand. Byakugan!_ Tamima took a few steps back as she took in her new situation. His defense was now solid as iron. There wouldn't be much that could easily punch through that armor and get at Jun, not even the Renge. The golem plodded forward and began its attack. Tamima easily dodged, but she was in trouble now. The beast's low speed meant she wouldn't be dodging very often, and this would subsequently prevent her from producing much chakra.

"Damn it all," Tamima said, "and here I thought my luck was getting worse. I'll crack your armor yet, just you wait," Tamima formed a few seals and attacked, "Lightning Sword no Jutsu." A blade emerged from Tamima's hand. It glowed an ethereal green, and arcs of electricity occasionally strayed away from the central blade. Tamima charged at that point. She slashed at the stone behemoth, but could only leave small gashes in the rock.

"Such a Jutsu cannot work against me," Jun said, "I cannot be stopped by the likes of you."


	10. The Eight Gates Released

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 10: The Eight Gates Released**_

A good ten minutes passed with no clear victor. Tamima was slowly being exhausted while Jun just whittled away at her. _Those boulders surrounding his body,_ Tamima thought_, he's not holding them there with a constant chakra flow; they're practically glued to his body._ There wasn't much that could be done. Jun was becoming more and more quick with his attacks.

Tamima dodged another attack and winced as one of the muscles in her legs started to tear from the bone. Her body was at its limits. Unless she could produce more chakra, she would lose. _Damn it,_ she muttered, _I didn't want to have to resort to releasing the Gates, but I have no choice if I want to win._ Another attack, Tamima dodged, but shifted her weight around to take it off of the damaged muscles. _Now's my only chance. First Gate, Open Gate, Release._

Chakra exploded into Tamima's system, and she immediately diverted half of it to repair her damaged muscles. Relief flooded through Tamima as the pain in her muscles subsided. _All right. Second Gate, Energy Gate, Release._ More chakra flooded Tamima's body, which dispersed evenly through her body. She only had a few seconds to act.

"Take this," she called out, "Kumo Flashing Blade." Tamima let loose with a flurry of high powered attacks which bombarded Jun's Armor of Stone. Cracks slowly developed in the armor, but Tamima's body gave out before she could cause anything series.

"Is that," Jun said, "the best you can do?" Tamima couldn't believe it. She'd just hit him with at least fifty hits which would've broken a man in half. "If that's all, I'm going to end this."

"Damn it," Myourin said, "now we're all in trouble."

"Third Gate, Life Gate, Release," Tamima's chakra exploded as she released the Life Gate. She needed to break his armor, get through so she could take Jun out. Her body changed color as the chakra filled out her chakra circulatory system. "Just a bit more. Fourth Gate, Wound Gate, Release!" Now the environment around Tamima was affected, and chunks of cooled lava-rock slowly lifted into the air as Tamima's chakra.

"What in the," Jun said.

"Here I come," Tamima charged forward, so fast that no one could follow her. A swift blow, though it bore incredible force, sent Jun into the air. Tamima leapt into the air after him, getting above him, "swallow this, Fifth Gate, Forest Gate, Release!" Tamima channeled all of her chakra into a massively devastating combo, which sent Jun crashing down hard. Tamima came down and landed in front of him, continuing the combo with devastating fury. Jun's armor began to crack beneath the force of the blow.

"All right," Tamima said, "Sixth Gate, View gate, Release." Tamima pulled some chains from her satchel; she then smashed Jun with a massive punch, which sent him toward the wall. Before he got there, Tamima whipped the chain and wrapped it around his waist, this was it, if this didn't work, then she'd have to cross the line, "Ou Renge!" It was a high powered, furious blow that sent Jun flying. Jun slammed into the wall and slumped to the ground. His armor remained intact, although heavily damaged.

"Hell," Jun said as he got to his feet, "I can't repair this armor you know. If you had held out a bit longer, you might have…" Jun stopped as he felt something. He looked more closely at Tamima. Her skin had changed color again, this time it was a pale grey. "What?" He looked up at the waiting room and noticed Tamima's teammates. Fear contorted their expressions. It was then that Jun felt Tamima's chakra, and her murderous intentions. "My God," he said, "what is she?"

"Seventh Gate," Tamima said, "Insanity Gate, Release." Tamima looked up from her slouched stance. Jun took a step back when he saw her. Her hair, influenced by the chakra, now seemed to move away from her face. Her eyes had changed color as well. They were red, and the whites of her eyes had turned black.

"What are you," Jun said, fear beginning to overcome him. "Those eyes," he said, "I've never seen such bloodlust."

"What are those eyes," the Mizukage said, "they're not human."

"Those eyes," Souma said from behind the Raikages, "are truly human. By releasing the Insanity Gate, she has completely eliminated the normal emotional inhibitions that keep the human animal in check. This is what allows a human to wield that kind of incredible chakra. But, it also turns a human into a horrifying monster."

Jun stood frozen in fear of what he was seeing. Tamima formed several seals with her hands, and finished with a seal Jun had never seen before. She placed her hands flat together, as if praying, she then tilted her hands so that her finger tips were pointed at Jun. Chakra began to focus between her hands, spreading them apart. Jun stared in awe at the level of chakra that was gathering in her hands. It wasn't long before she reached the pinnacle, and couldn't put anymore chakra into the attack.

"And now," she said, "Eighth Gate, Death Gate, Release." Tamima's hands opened, and the white flash seemed to fill everyone's vision, "Kihoho!"


	11. End of the Exams

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 11: End of the Exam**_

The smoke slowly began to clear up. Jun lay off to the side, unconscious. His armor lay scattered around his body. Neji rubbed his eyes as they started to regain their sight ability. He'd been so close to the attack, he'd been blinded. He looked about as colors started to return and froze. Tamima stood where she'd been when she'd launched the attack. She _stood._ _Impossible,_ Neji muttered, _after opening the Death Gate, she should be dead…How?_

Neji spun as he felt a presence behind him, "Kazekage-sama," Neji said, "is there something you need?"

"Look at her eyes," the Kazekage said, "she's not yet back in control of herself." Neji turned and looked back at Tamima and saw what the Kazekage meant. Her eyes were still full of murderous intent. _Damn it, _Neji thought to himself_, wonder why she's alive later, we have to stop her right now._ The Kazekage removed his hood and robes, getting into his combat gear. Neji heard some of the people in the crowd start muttering about something other than the match, and even Tamima, in her state, could only stare at the Kazekage.

"What the Hell," Myourin said, "the Kazekage's a kid?"

"Well," Akira said, "he's at least fourteen. He's only about four years younger than us in that case. Still, to be a Kage at that age, he must be immensely powerful." Tamima let her guard down as she pondered the Kazekage.

"Subaru You," the Kazekage said. Tamima's body was instantly wrapped in a coffin of sand, "I think we'll keep her there until her mind returns to normal."

"I'm wondering though," Neji said, "how did she survive releasing the Eighth Gate?"

"I can answer that," a voice came from behind. Neji and the Kazekage turned to find a Cloud Jounin standing behind them. He was fairly plain looking, with no special traits that were visible. _A lot like Gai-sensei, actually,_ Neji thought to himself.

"Who are you," Neji asked.

"My name is Urani Souma," the man said, "I'm this girl's instructor."

"Explain away," the Kazekage said, clearly just as curious over the matter as Neji was.

"To be blunt," Souma began, "she's only alive because she opened the Eighth Gate." Neji raised his eyebrow, _that makes no sense_, Neji whispered. "Remember her bloodline limit," Souma said, "the more active her body is, the more chakra she has. That move, the Kihoho, is a suicide technique. She would've died because she was using it. However, instead of letting herself die, she opened the Death Gate. Using the immense power granted to her from that action, she vibrated every cell in her body individually, created more than enough chakra to return to her body. After all, the Nobunaga can also turn chakra back into stamina. It's a lesser known trait that few people in the Nobunaga family can wield properly."

"Question answered," another voice, Temari this time, said, "Gaara," Temari said to the Kazekage, "she seems to have returned to her normal self, you should probably release her soon." The Kazekage, Gaara, looked back into eyes and saw that the malice had left them. He released his jutsu and she fell unconscious to the ground.

"Perhaps you went too far," Souma said, "In any case, the other Kages have unanimously agreed that this Exam is over. We've had two fights where the audience was endangered, and both of the perpetrators of those endangering jutsus won their fights. The feudal lords have agreed as well. We should've known better than to hold an Exam such as this, so soon after the wars have ended."

"It's not your fault," Gaara said, "this would've happened inevitably, as it also happened to the Leaf and the Sand two years ago." Souma frowned. With the Leaf and Sand's current relations, one would've never guessed that. Another person leapt down, it was the Seventh Raikage's apprentice.

"The Seventh-sama says to bring this girl into the meeting chambers so her fate can be discussed." Souma sighed and picked up Tamima._ Tamima, I hope you know what you just got yourself into._

Back in the meeting room, Tamima awaited her fate. "Now," the Sixth Raikage said, "I hope you are aware of what you did here today." Tamima bowed her head and said nothing. "That jutsu you used," she went on, "is capable of completely obliterating the entire stadium. You could've killed everyone today. If it weren't for the fact that you were no longer in control of yourself while you had used that technique, you r punishment would be death." Tamima could feel tears welling up in her eyes; she knew what was coming next, "however, you cannot go unpunished. As such, you will not be allowed to pass this test. You fail. Go home."


	12. Family

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 12: Family**_

It had been a few days since the end of the Chuunin exams, and Neji was out exploring Kumo. The town was quite the sight, possibly more beautiful than Konoha. The village was nestled up in the mountains of the Lightning Country, and was within a pleasant pine forest as well. However, the village itself, or more specifically the people, were less than pleasant. There was a constant sense of fear in the air, the type that could be felt in villages overseen by a tyrant.

Neji had bought a few things when he came across an art dealer on the street. He looked over some of the paintings and was really impressed. He tapped his hand on the stall and a woman looked out from behind an easel, "be with you in a-oh it's you," Neji recognized the woman as none other than Nobunaga Tamima.

"Why are you here," Neji asked, "I thought you were a Genin."

"I am," Tamima said, motioning Neji into the stall, "it's just, well, this is what I always wanted to do in life."

"Then why didn't you," Neji asked, "this art is exquisite; you could've lived in luxury."

"Because," Tamima said, "I'm a member of the branch family." Those words hit Neji dead center, "because I'm a member of the Nobunaga branch family, I'm forced to become a ninja because of family laws." Neji could sympathize. He was a member of the Hyuga branch family, and was required by family rules to be a ninja. _And then there's the Juinjutsu scar,_ Neji thought to himself, absentmindedly rubbing his forehead where the mark of the branch family had been scarred into his forehead when he was younger.

"When I said I wanted to become an artist, I became the laughing stock of the family," Tamima went on, "I'm the youngest child of my father, the head of the family, so I'm the branch family. I don't even get to choose my own fate." Neji was about to say more when two people walked into the stall.

"Well," one of them said, "this is where you were hiding."

"Stupid little sister," the other one said, "think you can run away and avoid your punishment."

"Get out," Tamima said, returning to her painting. The two men, one of them obviously Tamima's brother, began to slowly walk around the shop.

"Heh, you know what you are," the older man said, "You're a Nobunaga branch family member. Trash and trash doesn't get away without punishment." Neji was fighting to not attack the two men. Then he felt it, the intense bloodlust coming from Tamima. He looked back at her and saw the way she glared at her family members. Neji moved to stop her, but she moved with a speed she didn't have during the exams.

She had a paint brush in her hand. Within an instant, there were "manji" symbols on the older man's throat, and Tamima's brother's arms. Before either man could move, Tamima did, "SEAL!" She formed a seal with her hands and the marks on her family members flashed briefly and faded away. The older man tried to speak, but no sound escaped him. Tamima's brother tried moving his arms, but failed.

"I designed these seals," Tamima said, "based on the Juinjutsu that sealed that Hyuga whose body we received years ago." Neji's eyes widened, she'd been able to design a seal based off of the Hyuga Juinjutsu that was placed onto Neji's father, incredible, "father," Tamima turned to the older man, "you'll never be able to speak again, brother," Tamima turned to her brother, "your arms are useless for the rest of your life. The seals I placed on you are permanent, even I cannot release them."

"You think you can get away with defying us," Tamima's brother said. Tamima walked toward her brother and placed her finger on his forehead.

"The secrets of the Hyuga Juinjutsu are mine," she said, "you may not have gained much from that guy's body, but I did. All it would take is a few bottles of paint to make our entire clan submit to me," she shoved her brother with her finger, then walked over to a chest and opened it. She pulled out a bag with a Konoha headband on it, and handed it to Neji, "these belonged to that guy," she said, "I'll give them to you since you're his son." Neji froze. How had she known that? "I'm going to leave the village for a while," Tamima said, "I'll be back in a few hours, I just need to get away for a while," And with that, she left.

Outside of town, Tamima had time to think about what she did, and she realized what she had just done. Her emotions began to destabilize and she started crying. She was there for a while, thinking about what she should do. After a while, she heard foot steps and looked up. Being careful to avoid giving a clear change in emotions, she realized she was in deep trouble. The people approaching wore black coats decorated with shapes that resembled red clouds. They also wore large sun hats, and their faces were hidden. Tamima recognized them almost immediately. _Akatsuki…_


	13. Tamima versus Akatsuki

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 13: Tamima versus Akatsuki**_

"What's wrong young one," Sasori asked the girl that was crying. Although he was an Akatsuki, sometimes it felt good to help people rather than hurt, although, it was even more fun to hurt them. The girl was leaning against a tree holding a picture of a younger girl who bore a striking resemblance. _Probably a sibling,_ mumbled beneath his breath.

"My sister," the girl said between sobs, "she passed away. She was the only family I had." Sasori placed his hand on the girl's shoulder to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," he said, "it must hurt quite bit."

"Yeah," the girl said, "would probably hurt a lot more if she actually existed." There was a flurry of movement and the next thing Sasori knew; he was slamming hard into the tree across the road, unable to move his body. He glanced over at the girl, who was pulling a Kumo (Cloud) headband from out of her satchel and tying it around her forehead. _Interesting girl_, Sasori thought_, to be able to so perfectly mask her intentions, even from an Akatsuki like me, and to place this seal on my body,_ his eyes turned to the left in an attempt to see the seal mark, _she's completely shut down my ability to fight, not bad._

"Not bad…yeah," Deidara said, "to be able to take down Sasori in two movements, you're no ordinary shinobi…yeah."

"I'm a member of Kumogakure's (Hidden Cloud's) elite Nobunaga family," Tamima said, "Nobunaga Tamima, and you're members of the Akatsuki organization, and are on the S-class wanted list. I'll capture you or kill you, even if it costs me my life."

"Bold words," Deidara said, turning to look back at Sasori, "and you can certainly back them up…yeah." Deidara turned back to Tamima and started. There was something different about the girl he couldn't place. "Hmmm, what are you…**the left!**" Deidara dodged right as Tamima appeared from the left. Deidara glanced back at where Tamima had been before and saw that she was still there, and charging him. _Kage Bunshin…yeah_, Deidara mused. He didn't even have to try against this girl. Drawing two kunai, he threw them at Tamima and the Kage Bunshin, and hit both. Deidara's smile disappeared quickly as both Tamima and the Kage Bunshin melted. A quick sniff told Deidara that they were made of paint. "Interesting…yeah."

Deidara and looked at Tamima, who stood propped against a tree, the same tree where she'd been before. "If you haven't noticed," Tamima said, holding a paint brush in each hand, "I'm able to use paints as a weapon. And you, judging by the symbol on your forehead protector, are Deidara of Iwagakure (Hidden Stone). I've read about you, a shinobi who uses clay as a weapon. You won't beat me."

"A fellow artist…yeah," Deidara said, "but you've already lost." Tamima felt something crawling up her back, she turned to see a giant clay spider, "to late," Deidara said. He detonated the clay spider as it rested on Tamima's shoulder. The smoke cleared and Deidara frowned. Tamima's body was missing a huge section, but there were no innards. _Another Paint Bunshin_, Deidara muttered, _she's good at that…yeah._ There was a flash of movement to Deidara's left, and he turned.

"Not fast enough," Tamima yelled, and swung with her paint brushes, drawing the symbols for "seal" on Deidara's left arm, "**Seal!"** Deidara grunted as his left arm became useless. "You're good, though," Tamima said, letting an arrogant smile creep across her face, "I wasn't able to place a permanent seal, and had to settle for that one instead."

"Yeah…" Deidara reached into his right satchel and pulled out some clay, forming it into a swan figure, "but you're not immortal either." The swan took off at high speed, charging straight at Tamima. Tamima moved her brush around and a Fuma Shuriken appeared. Using her chakra, Tamima propelled it at the swan. It impacted and the swan detonated, "checkmate," Deidara said. Another swan came from Tamima's left and nailed her. The smoke cleared only to reveal Deidara had just hit another Paint Bunshin, "oh Hell," was all Deidara could yell before Tamima sealed his other arm. "You've never been fighting this battle to begin with, have you," Deidara said.

"Nope," Tamima said, shaking her head, "and I've yet to actually make a move other than that kick I gave to that guy over there." She pointed over at Sasori, "I've been off to the side ever since." Deidara smiled. It'd been a long time since he'd met another ninja that used art as a weapon. He was beginning to like this kid.

"Well," Deidara said, "our objective was in town, but I don't think we'll be getting by you today."

"You won't get in at all," Tamima said, "look." She pointed back at the village walls. Deidara looked and noticed another Paint Bunshin, as well as a massive drawing of the symbols for "barrier" painted on the gates. "That does more than lock the doors," Tamima said, "it has created a barrier capable of stopping anyone from entering or leaving the village. Next time, I think I may have to fight you in person." The two Paint Bunshins melted.

"That girl," Sasori said as he got up, the seal on his neck having worn off, "we can't take her lightly. Those seals are masterfully designed, if she hits us with one of her 'permanent' seals, we'll be through." Deidara looked down at the Paint Bunshin in front of him and thought about that, and he could only think of one thing to say…

"Yeah…."


	14. Artist Duel

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 14: Artist Duel**_

"We can't take that girl lightly," Sasori said, "next time we run into her, we have to take her out together." Deidara didn't respond right away, which made Sasori worry, "you're not taking this personally are you?"

"An artist cannot ignore another artist's challenge," Deidara said, "Sasori, she got the jump on me before, but it won't happen again."

"You idiot," Sasori yelled, "we don't know the extent of her capabilities; we should overwhelm and eliminate her." Sasori felt something crawling up his back; he turned and saw one of Deidara's clay spiders.

"Don't interfere," Deidara said, "or I'll kill you." With that, Deidara headed off into the woods.

"Damn it," Sasori said, "you and your art. I wonder if it's because that girl pissed you off, or because you like her." Sasori followed a few minutes later, intending to watch how the fight went. Hell, if Deidara lost, then Sasori could probably convince the girl to join the Akatsuki in Deidara's place.

Tamima sat at her campfire, designing her next move. She was roughly half-way down the mountain, a quarter mile or so from the village walls, and was out of sight of the watchtowers. If she was attacked now, it wouldn't be apparent to anyone at all. _Not that anyone would care if I was gone,_ Tamima whispered. There was a rustle of leaves to the left, someone was coming.

Tamima turned and watched as Deidara casually strolled up to her clearing, a sly smile on his face. Tamima smiled as well, she'd wanted to fight this guy again.

"I wonder who you think you're fooling," Deidara said, turning and looking to the right. _Crap,_ Tamima thought_, he's already noticed that I'm not actually sitting by the campfire._ The Paint Bunshin immediately charged Deidara. It landed a solid blow, but Deidara suddenly lost his color. _Kawarimi!_ The fake Deidara exploded, eliminating the Paint Bunshin and Tamima's campsite in the process.

Tamima formed a Fuma Shuriken with her paints and unfolded it. She wasn't going to fool him this time; she had to fight him herself. Deidara came in from the left, and Tamima hurled the Fuma Shuriken at him. Deidara easily dodged and sent one of his exploding birds at her. Tamima dropped from the tree, but the figure followed her to the ground and detonated right in front of her. The smoke cleared to reveal a blob of paint.

"She's good with those paints," Deidara said, "to be able to shape a figure in midair like that; she's real good…yeah." Deidara blocked high left as kunai came at his neck. He wasn't going to be outdone so easily. He sent a number of clay spiders into the trees, and then sent shurikens at the points where he could feel Tamima's chakra emanating from. _I need to distract her so she doesn't notice the spiders, _Deidara thought to himself. Tamima moved to dodge the shuriken and ran over to where she'd thrown the Fuma Shuriken. On the way, one of Deidara's figurines nearly got her.

It landed right in front of her and detonated. She'd managed to avoid the attack by using Kawarimi, but she soon realized that that wasn't the only one. Taking the Fuma Shuriken, she began to advance on Deidara's position. She was bombarded by spiders most of the way, but managed to avoid serious damage. When she finally sighted Deidara, she threw the Fuma Shuriken. Deidara easily dodged it, but he wasn't able to dodge the second Fuma Shuriken that had been hidden in the shadow of the first. It cut Deidara in half.

"Yea-CRAP," Tamima exclaimed as the Deidara she just cut in half lost its color and detonated. "Two good Fuma Shuriken down the pipe," she growled. She could understand how this guy was an Akatsuki. Tamima turned and blocked the kunai slash at her neck. Deidara had managed to circle around Tamima and attack her from behind. Tamima pushed him off and formed another Fuma Shuriken. The two clashed for several minutes, exchanging several blows and receiving various cuts and lacerations to their limbs.

"Not bad…yeah," Deidara said, "You're exceptional. Great even…yeah. It's been a long time since I had this much fun in a fight," he said with a smile. Tamima returned the smile; she'd never enjoyed herself during combat like this before. It was more like she was having a friendly fight with a rival instead of a battle to the death with a deadly enemy. The two made moves to strike at each other again when one of Deidara's spiders dropped between the two of them and began to detonate.

"Oh Hell," Deidara said, reaching into his satchel, "I have to use Kawarimi…WHAT, I don't have any clay left?"

"Damn," Tamima yelled, "I don't have any paint to use Kawarimi!" The clay spider detonated as both combatants attempted to shield themselves from the attack. The smoke cleared and both Deidara and Tamima lay on the ground. Deidara managed to pull himself up against a tree, but Tamima was out cold. Sasori then jumped into the clearing.

"I'll finish things here," he said.

"Touch her," Deidara said, "and I'll kill you." Deidara turned his gaze at Deidara, "this girl's too good an artist to die by your dull hands, only I am allowed to kill her." Sasori didn't let up on his gaze for a few minutes, then he shrugged and helped Deidara up.

"Fine," Sasori said, "if you're so dead set on this, then fine, I'll let you be the only one that kills her. But, I'll only give you two more tries before I take her out myself."

"Fair enough," Deidara said as Sasori carried him back to their campsite.


	15. As the Battle Rages

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 15: As the Battle Rages…**_

Tamima wrapped the cloth around her arm and tightened it. She placed the collection bowl beneath her arm and placed a kunai between her teeth as a bite guard. Taking another kunai in her hand, she held her wrist over the bowl and, biting hard on the kunai in her mouth, slit her wrist, making sure to make a deep cut so that plenty of blood flowed out and into the bowl. After a pint of her blood had drained into the bowl, she grabbed her slashed wrist and concentrated her chakra in order to heal the wound. After a few minutes of concentration, the bleeding stopped and the wound slowly closed up. Shortly after that, the pain vanished and Tamima spat the kunai out of her mouth.

"I'll never get used to that," Tamima muttered, adding a colorant to her blood to remove the red hue. The then added an herbal thickening agent, and then divided the two pints of blood evenly into five jars, where she added her specially made herbal medicines that turned the blood into paint. She added the colorings next: red, blue, yellow, black and white. The five most basic colors, which was all she needed. And, since the paint was made from her blood, she was able to turn her Paint Bunshins into actual clones, who would be almost indistinguishable from a normal human, even to Hyuga eyes.

"Now, I better eat something after losing all that blood," Tamima said as she snatched up the boar that was roasting over the campfire. Deidara watched from just outside of view. _So, that's how she does it…yeah,_ Deidara mused_, she's a true artist…yeah._ Deidara headed back to his own camp. He wanted to fight Tamima while she was at her fullest capability, not right after she'd just lost a lot of blood.

Two days passed, and Tamima's paints finally reached the optimal thickness. Her body had healed and she was ready to fight Deidara again at anytime. No sooner had she been musing about her next fight than a small bird landed on the branch above her. At first, Tamima wasn't sure what to think at first, but then she started to book it. A few seconds later, the bird exploded.

"I was wondering where you were," Tamima said as she picked herself up from the ground. Deidara smirked.

"I've yet to gain a point…yeah." Deidara said, "I have to beat you at least once so that we're even."

"Whatever," Tamima grinned. She was in trouble, she'd had to use a lot of force to get out of blast range, and the muscles in her legs felt like goop. Struggling to her feet, she staggered over to the trees, only to find her face right next to another of Deidara's birds. It detonated and the Paint Bunshin was splattered up against a tree. Deidara smiled and ducked to the left to avoid the hail of shurikens that struck his position. He'd already sent a group of his birds out to track down Tamima, so all he needed to do was fend off the numerous Paint Bunshins that were approaching his position.

A quick kunai slash and the first one of the Bunshins fell. Deidara slashed at the next one but got his kunai stuck in a log instead, a Kawarimi. Dropping the kunai, Deidara kicked at the next Bunshin and caught her hard in the gut. The Bunshin exploded, splattering paint around the clearing. Deidara took a few steps back when the tree where the remains of the first Bunshin had splattered suddenly exploded. Deidara was sent forward and landed hard, knocking the wind out of him. He looked back at the clearing, which he had been launched across, and noticed that the paint Bunshins he'd taken out hadn't just splattered normally. A lot of the paint had splattered into writing, turning sections of the ground into explosive notes.

"Damn," Deidara said, "she's not playing around this time…yeah." It was then that Deidara noticed something weird. Where were these Paint Bunshins coming from? Her paints had only recently reached the necessary thickness, so these Paint Bunshins couldn't be fresh…"wait, is that it?" Deidara turned and looked up at the wall of Kumogakure and froze. "So, that's not a special barrier jutsu at all," Deidara smiled, looking at the Paint Bunshins that were INSIDE the barrier, keeping it active and in place, "you painted that 'barrier' symbol on the door to distract us. It's just an ordinary barrier jutsu created by a group of those Paint Bunshins that you sent inside the city during our first fight."

Tamima frowned, he'd finally noticed. Tamima herself looked up at the walls. The Paint Bunshins within the city were running short. They were ordered to hold the barrier until their chakra was completely depleted, which caused the Bunshins to deactivate, and then one of the others would take their place. There were enough Bunshins left to hold the barrier for three more days. Then Deidara and Sasori would have complete reign to march into the city and do whatever they intended to do. She had to end this, now. Tamima reached into her satchel and pulled out one of her scrolls. Cutting her thumb on one of her kunai, she opened the scroll and spread the blood across the text. Jumping down to the ground, she pressed the scroll to the earth, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

Some of the text left the scroll and buried itself into the ground. _All right,_ Tamima thought to herself, _let's get moving._ Tamima slowly approached Deidara's position. The Paint Bunshins she'd prepared on the first day had almost been completely eliminated. Reaching into her satchel, Tamima pulled out a REAL Fuma Shuriken and unfolded it. Deidara took out a Paint Bunshin, and presented an opening. Tamima threw the Fuma Shuriken at Deidara's back, then charged around to the front where she caught it after he dodged. Deidara stepped back, hesitated, then jumped into the trees as a massive alligator came out of the ground and tried to bite at his legs.

"You summoned an alligator…yeah," Deidara mused, "I'm at a disadvantage now…yeah." Deidara, know with the knowledge of where Tamima was, called back his birds. Tamima tied a wire to the Fuma Shuriken and flung it at the birds, using the wire to steer it from one target to the next. When the Fuma Shuriken returned to Tamima, Deidara spotted an opening. He leapt down and got behind Tamima, her lower back was wide open to attack. Tamima saw an opening in Deidara's guard, his neck. Both shinobi swung their weapons at each other's openings. They both connected….

Tamima stood still as a searing pain ran through her thigh, where Deidara had stabbed her. Meanwhile, Deidara winced as his arm twitched after being impaled by the Fuma Shuriken. And both wondered why they hadn't hit their intended targets. Deidara, still rather confused, removed the kunai from Tamima's thigh, pulled his arm free of Tamima's Fuma Shuriken, and ran off. Tamima sank down and placed her hand over the wound in her thigh, and started healing it. What had that all been about? Why hadn't she killed him when she had the chance?

Watching from a safe distance, Sasori frowned behind his mask. _Deidara_, he muttered, _how dare you develop feelings for this girl?_


	16. The Power of the Seventh

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 16: The Power of the Seventh**_

Deidara packed his sack full of clay and prepared to head out. This was his last chance to defeat Tamima before Sasori stepped in and took Tamima out. He had to defeat her himself. After all, they were both artists, and it didn't seem right for a puppeteer like Sasori to be the one who killed Tamima.

It wasn't long before Deidara found Tamima's campsite, which she of course wasn't present in. Just a Paint Bunshin to make it seem like she was there. She was a clever one, that was for sure. That's probably what drew Deidara toward her. Either way, today had to be the day he finished her off.

"Come out," Deidara said, "there's no use in hiding…yeah." Tamima smiled; there was no avoiding a headlong battle this time. She doubted she could win, now. Grabbing her paint brushes, Tamima stepped into the open, ready to take Deidara on, even if it meant it would be her last fight. "Let's get it over with…yeah…"

_**CRASH!**_

Deidara and Tamima staggered as a massive quake rocked the area. They turned their gaze east and saw a shadow blocking the sun. It had the shape of a man, but was tremendous in size. In its left hand was a sword, and in its right a staff.

"Oh, Hell," Deidara yelled, "an Oni here, of all places…yeah…Sasori, get your ass out here, there's no running from this thing…yeah!" Sasori was out of the trees and at Deidara's side in an instant, "Tamima, if you don't mind giving us a hand as well." Tamima was already moving. "All right then, good thing I prepared my special number 18…yeah…"

Tamima had already released the Life gate, and was belting out as many attacks as she could launch before her body began to give in. Sasori was moving as well, and Deidara's explosive birds bombarded the beast without prejudice. Nothing worked. Tamima released the next two gates, but even that immense level of power did little against the tyrannical Oni.

"All right then," Deidara said, smiling evilly, "time for my Special Number 18…yeah." Deidara pulled a massive, pre-shaped figurine from his satchel. "Yeah, this'll be great; I'll show you that art is a blast…yeah." The figurine flew at the Oni with incredible speed, and when it detonated, the blast was on par with Tamima's Kihoho jutsu. However, when the smoke cleared, the Oni stood unscathed. "No…"

"Damn it," Tamima said, "Seventh Gate, Insanity Gate, Release," Tamima released the barrier that hindered her inner beast and went all out against the Oni. The damage was tremendous, to the environment, anyway. The Oni, no matter how hard the three ninjas fought, was able to resist every attack. Soon, Tamima collapsed as her body gave in to exhaustion. Deidara was sent flying from a tremendous blow by the Oni's staff.

"Damn it," Deidara said, "why is this powerful of a beast here?" The Oni moved to attack Sasori, but stopped dead in his tracks. Sasori stared in amazement for a moment, then he noticed the chakra threads connected to the Oni's body. He turned and saw the Seventh Raikage, his arm extended toward the Oni, the chakra threads were being emitted from his hands.

"Feh," the Seventh Raikage muttered, "I thought you'd provide me with a lot more enjoyment." The Seventh flexed his fingers a bit, and the Oni impaled itself on its own sword. _My God,_ Sasori said, _he can control his enemy's body? What is this monster?_ Sasori noticed the Seventh turning his wrist slowly, he turned to look up at the Oni and was almost appalled at what he saw. The Oni's neck was slowly turning one-hundred-eighty degrees, only a bit farther and-

_**SNAP!**_

The Oni fell dead, its neck broken. Sasori would've felt awed, if raw terror didn't grip him as the Seventh turned his gaze toward Sasori. There was something odd about his left eye…

"You need to be more entertaining than that guy," the Seventh said. Sasori froze. He'd never felt a blood-lust like this one before. There was a flash of movement, and Tamima was in front of the Seventh Raikage.

"Damn you," Tamima said, "I won't let you." Another flurry of movement and the Raikage's eye was sealed by Tamima's jutsus. "I know all about that eye of yours," Tamima said, "I can't allow you to use it here." The seal on the Raikage's eye was different than the other seals. It was spiral shaped, and had several lines of indecipherable text extending outward. "This seal," Tamima said, "is based off of a seal that was performed by the Yondaime Hokage," she said, "not as potent, since I have no idea how it actually works, but it'll keep that eye of yours closed for quite some time, at the very least."

Sasori picked up Deidara and walked away, using this opportunity to make his getaway. A few days later, a unanimous vote by the Kages promoted Tamima to the rank of Jounin.


	17. Tamima Team 4

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 17: Tamima Team 4**_

A week or so had passed since the Oni incident. All the foreign representatives had long since left town, and Tamima eagerly awaited her first assignment. She was called into the Raikage estate. She entered the main chambers where the Sixth Raikage and the Seventh, the seal on his eye still firmly in place, sat at their desks. A number of Jounins were also in the room, including Souma-sensei and Zatoichi-sensei. Tamima wondered what was going on.

"Most of you here today are aware of why you are here," the Sixth said, with her usual cool tone, "some of you aren't," most of the Jounins looked over at Tamima, who blushed a bit with embarrassment. Souma smiled and Zatoichi shrugged, "in any case," the Sixth went on, "all of you here today, starting tomorrow, will be taking command of a three man Genin Team." Tamima was pretty enthused over this. She'd always wanted to command a Genin team.

"The teams from Sayako Mamime's class have already been determined," the Seventh said, "they will be announced to the students tomorrow, and you'll be taking command of those teams tomorrow." Tamima smirked. The Genin she was going to be in command of were taught by the same teacher as she was. "These papers will tell you which teams you will be taking command of," the Seventh said, "Urani Souma, you will be in command of team number 1. Seta Zatoichi, you have team number two. Team number three will be under the command of Hibiya Mokoto. Team number four is in the care of Nobunaga Tamima," Tamima followed Mokoto and took the sheet of paper presented to her. The irony yet continued. Tamima's team number had been four. Once all the papers were handed out, the Jounins were dismissed, and Tamima headed to her residence.

The Nobunaga Branch families had an extensive residence in the center of the town. While it was larger than the head family's estate, it was less prestigious. Tamima, as the head of the branch families, was normally responsible for keeping tabs on the people living within the estate, but she'd been fairly busy lately. She entered her apartment and looked at the slip of paper she'd been given that had her team members' names listed on it. She read over the first two names but halted at the third name.

"No way," she mumbled, staring at the name in disbelief, "this person is…"

The next day, after Mamime's class had been dismissed, Tamima tracked her team down. "First on the list is Karimono Koremaru," she murmured. She found him easily, since he was hanging out at the ramen bar. She called out to him and he came running.

"Hey, hey," he said, "are you the Jounin sensei that's been assigned to my team." Tamima twitched. **His** team? This boy was definitely the arrogant time. Nor was he dressed appropriately, wearing bright colors and a flashy haircut.

"Correction," Tamima said, "you're the Genin-wannabe who's been assigned to **my** team," the boy scowled and grumbled to himself, "anyway, let's go find your other teammates. Let's see… next is Date Arimaru." Tamima smiled at that. She'd worked with members of the Date clan before, they were all skilled shinobi. It wasn't long before they found Arimaru, and, after exchanging greetings, headed off to find the third member of the team.

"Hey, hey," Koremaru said, "isn't this the way to the Nobunaga head-families estate?"

"Yes," Tamima said, "you're right." They arrived at the gate to the estate and Tamima entered. Some of the people living on the estate gave Tamima an evil glare, but she ignored them. She eventually arrived at her brother's residence and stepped in. "Hey," she called, "Nii-sama, get your ass out here." Her two students visibly flinched at her harsh language, but Tamima's brother stepped out of his office, completely ignoring Tamima's language. His arms were in slings in order to keep them from swelling up (they were sealed after all, and hung limp normally), but he had clearly found a painkiller strong enough to get rid of his wince.

"What," he said, "that time already," Tamima nodded, and her brother turned his head to look at the stairs that were just out of view, "oi, Yumi-chan, your Jounin sensei is here."

"Okay, chichi (father)," a young girl stepped down the stairs, saw Tamima, and glared, "she's my sensei," she asked, not bothering to disguise her annoyance.

"Yes," Tamima's brother said, "and you'll show her some respect, especially since your life is in her hands from now on. Now that you're under her command, I can't stop from training you mercilessly." Yumi's frown deepened and she sighed. Tamima frowned as well, _this is going to be very unpleasant,_ she thought to herself.


	18. Catch Me if You Can!

/quick authors note: There were a few glaring errors in my last chapter, mainly cause I didn't know didn't accept bracket characters, anyway, these errors have been corrected. And for those that don't know, "chichi" is another way of saying "father" in Japanese/

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 18: Catch Me if You Can!**_

"All right, all right," Tamima said as she assembled her team in the training grounds on the outskirts of the village, "I guess it's about time we all get acquainted." She turned to Koremaru, "you first," she said.

"Yeah," Koremaru said, "my name is Karimono Koremaru, of the Karimono clan. My family is one of the oldest in this village, and one of the few that still uses advanced ninjutsu techniques," he said, "my specialty is lightning jutsus, and I got some pretty cool ones, too."

"Well," Tamima said, "you've got a bit of enthusiasm in you." Koremaru smiled mischievously, and Tamima smiled back. Kids like this usually had a great deal of potential, and only needed a bit of guidance before they became exceptional. "Next, you," she pointed at Arimaru.

"It is customary to give ones own name before asking for another's," Arimaru replied.

"So it is," Tamima said, "my name is Nobunaga Tamima. I'm head of the Nobunaga branch families and a veteran of the wars. I'm an artist ninja, I guess you could say, and use paints as a weapon," Koremaru and Yumi looked a bit confused, while Arimaru listened intently, "I've fought the infamous Akatsuki in battle, and not only survived, but won on one occasion. I guess you could say I'm pretty tough." Koremaru and Yumi looked skeptical, but Arimaru smiled.

"Well then," Arimaru began, "my name is Date Arimaru, of the Arimaru clan. I've always preferred fighting with genjutsu as opposed to taijutsu and ninjutsu, but I have some skills in both I guess." Tamima was excited by this. Genjutsu ninjas were rare, and it was a highly difficult skill to master. This boy had a great deal of promise already. _I guess every team has a genius_, Tamima mused.

"All right," Tamima said, turning to Yumi, "and what about you, Yumi-chan?"

"You will refer to me as Yumi-**sama**," Yumi replied harshly, "got that, branch family member?" Tamima responded by glaring at Yumi.

"Listen, **brat**," Tamima said, "you are a Genin **candidate** under **my** command," Tamima said, not restraining her anger at Yumi's lack of respect, "as long as you are under my command, you will do as I say. Family bonds and loyalties don't exist on the field of battle, and your fate is completely under my control," Yumi cowered beneath Tamima's gaze, even Arimaru seemed nervous, "understand!" Yumi nodded, albeit meekly. Tamima turned her gaze away from Yumi.

"All right," she said, "skip the introductions; we're moving on to the test. Before we begin, you need to know the rules." All three turned their attention toward Tamima, "this test will decide how resourceful you are, the tools you have on you, plus a single jutsu of your choosing, are all you may use."

"WHAT," Koremaru exclaimed, "we can only use one jutsu?"

"Yes," Tamima said, "in some situations, via physical reasons or circumstantial reasons, you may only have access to a single one of your jutsu. This test is to see if you can complete your mission in such a situation, against an opponent who is in a similar situation as you are. That means I only have access to one jutsu as well," the three students nodded affirmation.

"The goal of this test is to catch me," Tamima said, "the REAL me." The students nodded, but then started as they finally caught her statement.

"So then," Arimaru said, "that means you'll be using a form of Bunshin no Jutsu?"

"Correct," Tamima said, "my patented Paint Bunshin no Jutsu to be exact," all three nodded. "Now, the three of you will decide which jutsu you want to use," Tamima said, "but don't show it to me, also, I'll know if you use more than one jutsu. If you do, you fail the test."

"Well," Koremaru thought to himself, "I supposed I could use my Sparking no Jutsu, yeah, that'll give me the speed boost I'll need to catch her."

"Well," Yumi thought to herself, "Chichi taught me that one jutsu, Lightning Barrier no Jutsu, and that should be able to contain her movement."

"Let's see," Arimaru thought to himself, "I suppose genjutsu won't do much good here, but my Camouflage no Jutsu should be able to help me find the real sensei without being detected."

"All decided," Tamima asked, the three students nodded, "all right then, begin," and with that, the Paint Bunshin that had been discussing with the students melted. The test had begun.


	19. Catch Me if You Can: Part 2

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 19: Catch Me if You Can: Part 2**_

"It's been a half hour already," Tamima said from her hiding place, "I wonder what's taking them so long, I only made thirty-five Paint Bunshins, why is it so hard to get through them all?" So far she'd only sensed four of her Paint Bunshins disappear, "those globs of paint are better than I thought…"

Arimaru crept as close as he could, he'd already caught one of the Paint Bunshins, and he was sure that the Tamima in front of him was the one he was looking for. _But even the fakes emit chakra, _Arimaru thought to himself, _that makes it more difficult than it already was. If she were using a normal Bunshin no Jutsu, the fakes wouldn't be able to stray very far from the real body, but, _he continued to himself, _these bodies can move independently and travel any distance from the real body. This test is more than difficult. If this were a mission, the target might've gotten away by now, unless they were immobile. I'll have to pick up the pace._ Arimaru hit the Paint Bunshin with a shuriken.

"Another one down," Tamima mused, "oh, and **three** more. That makes eight down, and only twenty seven left." Yumi was moving as quietly as she could. She'd taken two of the Paint Bunshins down on her own. This was a hard test, she hadn't thought Tamima had had this many Paint Bunshins set up for the test. Tamima crawled through a bush as slowly and quietly as she could. She saw another Tamima on the other side, this one, however, was facing her direction. Yumi would have to wait before making her move.

Koremaru moved quick, sticking to the tree tops. He'd already gotten four of the Paint Bunshins, and was getting aggravated. He found another Tamima resting beneath him; she was propped up against a tree and watching around it, waiting for someone to approach. Koremaru didn't even need to use the Sparking no Jutsu to get this. Moving quickly, he dropped in and grabbed onto the Tamima, only to have the Paint Bunshin melt in his arms.

"This isn't working at all," Koremaru yelled, not caring whether his position was revealed or not, "bah," he went on, much quieter, "there's no way we can do this individually, I need to find the others." He headed off to find his teammates, not realizing that the Tamima he ran past was the real one.

"All right," Yumi said, "what's your plan."

"Well, what jutsus are you guys using," Koremaru said, "I'm using my family's patented Sparking no Jutsu," he said, "it charges my body with electricity and allows me to move at an extremely high speed. How about you Yumi, what are you using?"

"Lightning Barrier no Jutsu," she said, "It creates a wall of electricity that can stop just about anything from getting through. There is a drawback though," she said. Koremaru and Arimaru looked over at her, "the barrier isn't constant, it oscillates. Every few microseconds, it deactivates for about a third of a microsecond. If you're moving at anything beyond mach seven, you can get through the opening."

"Mach seven," Koremaru frowned, "can things even move that fast?"

"Yeah," Yumi said, "you saw Tamima-sensei's fight in the Chuunin Exams? After opening the Sixth Gate, she was moving at approximately mach eight. It destroys the muscular system faster than it can be restored, however, and I don't think that Tamima-sensei will be willing to use such a dangerous strategy against mere Genins."

"Exactly," Koremaru said, despite the fact he hadn't actually thought of it himself.

"I'm using Camouflage no Jutsu," Arimaru said, "It completely disguises me both visibly and audibly. Also, it eradicates my smell. But it uses chakra, lots of chakra, and it doesn't eliminate the vibrations of the air."

"But you just said it eradicates all traces of your presence audibly," Koremaru said.

"Audibly, yes," Arimaru said, "I didn't say it completely eliminated the vibrations."

"Whatever," Koremaru said, "all right, here's the plan. Yumi, you expand the barrier as wide as you can, and I mean WIDE," Koremaru spread his arms for emphasis, "we need to be able to get as many of the Tamimas in the area within the barrier as we can, and hope one of them is the real Tamima. Arimaru," Koremaru turned toward Arimaru, "head to that clearing over there and use your jutsu, don't bother hiding your sounds or anything, if things go as I wish, she won't have time to listen for you nor try to sniff you out." Arimaru and Yumi nodded to signify they understood.

"I can create a barrier that's about thirty five meters in diameter, and can hold that for, at the most, twenty five minutes," Yumi said, "can you get everyone within that time frame?"

"With my Sparking no Jutsu," Koremaru said, "I can catch them easily, but that's not my goal," he smiled wryly.

"I get it," Arimaru said, also smiling, "you'll try and gather a number of Tamimas and draw them toward the clearing where I'm hiding so that I can get them all at once." Koremaru nodded.

"All right," Koremaru said, "let's move."

"Where are they," Tamima grumbled, "I've sensed twenty-three of my Paint Bunshins be erased in only a few minutes time, how are they…" The other four Paint Bunshins stormed past her, nearly scaring Tamima out of her hiding place, then she sensed a storm of chakra coming up behind them, she peaked around the corner and was spotted by Koremaru.

"FOUND YOU," Koremaru yelled.

"Damn," Tamima said to herself as she too started running. Koremaru's body was surrounded by electricity; the Karimono family's Sparking no Jutsu, no doubt. The five Tamimas reached a clearing, and there was a slight blur as all five were hit by shurikens. Tamima winced as the shuriken hit her arm, "really good," she said, then slammed headlong into a wall. After a moment, she recovered from her daze and looked up to see her students standing over her triumphantly. Tamima smiled, "to think that I lost to you guys, ah well, I guess you pass then. Report here tomorrow for your first orders."


	20. Class B Mission

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 20: Class B Mission**_

"I am sick of this," Koremaru said, "why do we have to do all these boring patrol missions; I wanna be in a big fight."

"Big fights," Tamima said, "are not actually all that fun. They're dangerous and you could easily die. Besides, you should be glad we haven't run into anyone while we were patrolling. The only people even interested in us are the Akatsuki, and if we ran into them on a patrol, we'd be dead."

"But why would they be all that interested in us," Yumi said, with a skeptical tone, "I mean, you beat up Deidara a couple of times, whoopee, those guys don't seem like the prideful type."

"Deidara is very prideful," Tamima said, chuckling at her own enthusiasm over the mention at his name, "but what they're after is probably the **All Seeing Eye**."

"All Seeing Eye," Arimaru asked, "I've heard of it. According to mythology, it was an artifact created by the Raikami (Lightning Divinity) that allowed him to see and change the future at whim. But it's only a myth, or at least, it's supposed to be only a myth."

"Well," Tamima said, "it kind of isn't. Nanadaime Raikage-sama has the All Seeing Eye." All three students froze. "Unfortunately, that old relic is monstrously powerful, and whenever Raikage-sama uses it, it temporarily drives him insane, and he is compelled to destroy."

"Why does he become that way," Koremaru asked.

"Well, only the Raikage-sama really knows the answer to that," Tamima said, "for now, though, he won't be able to use that eye anymore since I sealed it." The three students nodded, and Koremaru let out a sigh of relief. _But that seal will wear off in a month or so,_ Tamima thought to herself, _and when that happens, I'll have to be ready for him. _ Tamima smiled at her students and got up, "well, today's history lesson is over, and I have a special surprise for you three when we get our mission."

The three of them were amazing. Although they lacked anything spectacular individually, their teamwork was incredible. Tamima had tested them a couple of times since they were promoted to Genins, and they had beat her every time. It was about time they were tested in something higher than a Rank C mission.

They arrived at the ninja headquarters a few minutes later. Koremaru was completely energized. "Ah, I was wondering when you would show up," the Sixth Raikage said, "anyway, I have a special mission for you," the Sixth said.

"Special mission," Koremaru asked, "Tell us, tell us!"

"All right," the Sixth said. She reached under her desk and grabbed a scroll from a case, "this is a Rank B mission, here," she handed the scroll to Yumi, "this is a message to our contacts within Konohagakure. This scroll has specific orders to these contacts within that village. It isn't to be opened until you get inside Konohagakure village. Listen," the Sixth's voice became deadly serious, "the enemy will be trying to get their hands on this scroll, so that they can learn who and where our contacts within their village are. As such, they have a unit guarding the bridge into their territory, and you'll have to get past this group via any means necessary. However, you need to avoid killing them if at all possible." The three Genins nodded, but seemed a bit nervous, Tamima smiled slyly. This was her first official B Rank missions as a Jounin, and she was eager to prove herself.

"We believe that the bridge is being guarded by a team of one Jounin, and three Chuunin," the Sixth said, "a bit serious of a fight for a team of Genin, but if you make it back, you'll be officially nominated for the Chuunin exam at the end of the year." The three Genin were excited once again. Getting nominated for the Chuunin exams was a big thing in Kumogakure, and it wasn't to be taken lightly. And this was their opportunity.

"All right, all right," Koremaru said, "so we have to get this scroll to one of the contacts in Konohagakure, yeah?"

"But we have to get past the team guarding the bridge into the Flame Country," Arimaru said, "a team of one Jounin and three Chuunin… this is going to be a Hellish mission for sure."

"I've been on A Rank missions before," Tamima said, "and those can be described as Hellish. A B Rank mission is simple by comparison."

"For you maybe," Yumi said, "this is gonna be harsh, I just know it."

"Well, the mission begins immediately," the Sixth said, "we've already prepared supplies for your trip, so head on out whenever you're ready."

/Author's note- Hey all, thanks for the reviews. Anyway, somebody mentioned that Tamima gets away with a lot of things, and I will say, that I know what you mean. Hopefully, this chapter gives an idea of why she got away with sealing the Raikage's eye. And, well, I got no excuses for her other moments (except when she sealed her father and brother, those two deserved it, and the Raikage's agreed that she wasn't responsible for that occasion). Again, thanks for the reviews, and I hope everyone can provide more. /


	21. Crossing the Bridge

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 21: Crossing the Bridge**_

Tamima's team was roughly within viewing distance of the bridge now. It had been almost a week since they started their travels, and they were finally at the border between the Lightning and Flame countries. A large river divided the countries, and a long bridge spanned the river. No one was present at the bridge, but Tamima knew better than to believe her eyes.

The team got within twenty meters of the bridge before Tamima signaled them to halt. She'd seen something just then, but she couldn't catch it again. "Damn it," she cursed to herself, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." A single Kage Bunshin appeared, which Tamima sent ahead of her to try and figure out what it was she had seen. A few moments later, the Kage Bunshin stopped and pointed at a wire just in front of her, a trap.

Tamima frowned; it was getting close to dusk, which meant she'd have a harder time spotting traps. Tamima dispelled the Kage Bunshin and turned to her team, "we're going to camp out about seven miles back up the road, and cross the bridge in the morning." The three Genin turned and started to head back; Tamima looked back at the bridge for a moment and scanned the forest that was lining both sides of the road. After a moment, she followed her students.

A few hours later, once night had fallen, Tamima headed toward the bridge alone, leaving a Paint Bunshin behind to keep an eye on the students. When she arrived at the bridge again, she stepped past the traps and approached within five meters of the bridge.

"That's far enough," a voice said from the trees, "I'm afraid I can't let you pass any further." A man leapt out from the forest. He wore green, or at least it seemed that way in the dark, and his hair was cut in a bowl style. He stood in a Taijutsu stance between Tamima and the bridge. He wore a Chuunin's flak jacket, and was fully aware of what he was doing.

"Humph," Tamima said, "are your buddies all sleeping, gejimayu (thick brows)," she poked fun at his thick eyebrows to try and unsettle him, but he remained unfazed, "well, either way, I'll get past you."

"I'm afraid not," gejimayu said, "as Konoha's beautiful green wild beast, Rock Lee, I'll stop you from crossing this bridge."

"Rock Lee, eh," Tamima mused, "well, Lee-kun, I'm afraid you're going to be eating the dirt momentarily." Tamima charged, but Lee countered her move easily. Tamima staggered a bit, but kept her footing. She turned and hurled a kunai at Lee, but he dodged it. Tamima sidestepped Lee's attack, but it still nicked her cheek.

Tamima took a step back and felt some resistance to her movements. "Damn," she yelled when she realized she'd triggered a trap. There was an explosion and Tamima was sent flying for just over three meters. She landed hard and had the wind knocked out of her. A kunai buried in her back as Lee finished her off. It was then that the Paint Bunshin melted.

Tamima watched the fight from a distance. When the Paint Bunshin was taken out, Tamima decided she had enough info and headed back for her camp. _That guy was just a Chuunin, _she murmured to herself, _I was lucky it was just him, other wise the Paint Bunshin would've been finished a lot earlier, and I wouldn't have been able to get as much info._

Lee stood contemplating the pile of goo in front of him. Sakura stepped out of the forest a moment later, and approached Lee, "wow," she said, "to think that that was just a Bunshin."

"Yeah," Lee said, "something tells me that this won't be as easy as we thought it would be."

"It's never so easy," Sakura said with a sigh, "I almost miss the old Genin missions…like walking dogs and weeding gardens." Lee almost cracked up at that. He kind of missed the old missions as well, but these Chuunin level missions were exactly the type of challenge he'd always wanted. "Any way," Sakura said, "it's my watch now, so head back to the camp."


	22. Team 4's Battle

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 22: Team 4's Battle**_

"Let's get going, and be quiet about it," Koremaru said. During the night, Koremaru, Yumi, and Arimaru had decided to head for the bridge on their own. While they knew they couldn't take the people guarding the bridge in all out combat, they could probably trap them with Yumi's Lightning Barrier no Jutsu. Tamima was still sleeping when they snick off.

"All right," Yumi said, about an hour later, "there's the bridge. I don't see anybody, and I can't feel anything, either."

"These are Konoha ninjas," Arimaru said, "they're benevolent by nature. Their minds don't give off any murderous intentions since they never think of such things."

"Then explain that sannin guy that we read about in school," Koremaru said, "Orochimaru. He was supposedly caught committing heinous crimes against his own comrades."

"There are of course exceptions," Arimaru said, "but these guys aren't exceptions. There's somebody just off to the side their. Pink hair. I'll hit her with a Genjutsu." Arimaru stretched out with his chakra and used it to invade the targets mind and alter her perceptions. However, this one, a girl, was pretty quick, and countered the Genjutsu immediately. "Damn," Arimaru said, "this one is good."

"She is good isn't she," a voice said from behind. The three Genin turned to see another girl, with black hair which was rolled into buns on the top of her head, staring down at them, "and you guys ain't all that good."

"Damn," the dumb-looking one said, "and here I thought you guys were smart." Tenten glowered at the remark for a moment, and then realized what he meant. The world around her began to melt, and she realized that the guy in the cowl had been targeting her, and not Sakura.

"Shit," Tenten yelled as she dispelled the Genjutsu. Her eyes regained focus just in time to see the kunai coming at her face, which she summarily dodged, and she then backpedaled away from the three kids. "Watch out, Sakura," she called, "these guys are smart."

Sakura couldn't believe Tenten had fallen into a Genjutsu so easily. The guy in the cowl was definitely skilled with that art. He probably also knew a few other Genjutsu which were more powerful. Sakura couldn't allow herself to become distracted and fall into one of his Genjutsu. Lee was on the scene now as well, but was challenged by the girl.

"As a man, I cannot fight a woman," Lee said, "however, if you are so intent on crossing this bridge, then I will have to stop you."

"Stop your ramblings, gejimayu," the girl said, "why don't you fight already?" The two of them started fighting. Sakura turned her attention to the boy in the cowl. A Genjutsu type ninja, like Sakura had once been. They were definitely a rare breed, but Sakura knew how to fight them.

Tenten was preoccupied with the dumb-looking kid, Lee was fighting the girl, and Sakura had to deal with mister mind games. Neji felt rather bored watching his team fight it out. He was marginally impressed by the skills of the three Kumo Genin, but as they started to lose their advantage, their lack of experience began to show completely. Soon, the dumb-guy was out cold, and Sakura had the Genjutsu guy cornered. The only Kumo ninja left that could fight was the girl, and a swift kick from Lee sent her to the ground.

"Damn," Tenten said, as she walked up to the girl, who lay face down in the dirt, "even the dumb guy put up a better fight then you," Tenten said to the girl, "can't you do any better than that." Tenten would live to regret those words.


	23. Useless

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 23: Useless**_

"Damn," the black haired girl said, "even the dumb guy put up a better fight then you. Can't you do any better then that? Or are you completely **useless**?" That word, useless, brought back a surge of memories for Yumi.

She remembered when she was little, about five or so, she was training with the branch family children and some of the main family children ob how to properly throw shuriken. Back then, Tamima-sensei was still in the academy, and was training with them. Every kid could at least hit the target, but Tamima-sensei could always hit the center of the target. But, when Yumi tried, she could only hit the target on a frequency of about four times out of ten. On that day, her father had called her "useless" and told her to be more like Tamima-sensei.

Then, a more recent memory entered her thoughts; it was the time when she got her first grade report from the ninja academy. Her scores were rock bottom. Her father and grandfather had yelled at her, had told her to study more. Yumi had replied that she couldn't study, because she was always training.

"You're useless," Yumi's father had said, "it's common knowledge that you have to balance studies and training." Yumi hadn't said anymore, even though she'd wanted too. That word, "useless," was the way everyone described her, except for…

"You're pretty good," Tamima-sensei said, "Yumi-chan, I'll bet you'll be better than me someday."

Yumi wasn't sure why she'd thought of that memory just then. It was from back during a lull in the wars, when Tamima-sensei had come back home for a while. She'd been watching how hard Yumi trained to become better, and had complimented her.

Yumi could feel tears welling up in her eyes. When Yumi had been assigned to Tamima's team, Yumi's father had told her to monitor Tamima at all times. Yumi agreed to spy on Tamima, since she was angry that Tamima had sealed her father's arms. At the time, her pride as a member of the head family had blinded her to the truth. In truth, the only person who respected Yumi for who she was, was Tamima-sensei, and Yumi wasn't going to let her down, not ever.

"Useless, eh," Yumi said, as she pulled herself up, "just try and call me useless now." Chakra began to explode from Yumi's body, and her skin began to turn red, "I'll prove to everyone, I'm not useless. **THIRD GATE, LIFE GATE, RELEASE!**"


	24. Yumi Explodes

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 24: Yumi Explodes**_

"I'll prove to everyone, that I'm not useless," Yumi said as her body began to turn red from the incredible chakra flow, "**THIRD GATE, LIFE GATE, RELEASE!**" Yumi's chakra exploded, and the ground around her began to crack from the intense chakra flow. The three Konoha Chuunin began to back away, as Yumi went to the next level, "**backing off, huh? Try this: FOURTH GATE, WOUND GATE, RELEASE!"** The ground around Yumi exploded, and she made her move. She charged gejimayu first.

Lee had no time to react. The blow came with the exact kind of ferocity that could be expected from opening the Gates. The attack landed hard, and knocked him into the air. The girl moved at high speed, and got above him, and then sent him crashing back to earth. He landed hard and was out cold for a moment. He awoke in time to see that Neji had stepped out of his hiding place and joined the fight.

After sending gejimayu to the ground, Yumi turned and moved in on the pink haired girl. Yumi's massive burst of chakra was only about and eighth depleted, more than enough to take the other two Chuunin. She moved on the pink haired girl next, but was caught off guard. The pink haired girl punched the ground, causing it to erupt in a shower of boulders. Yumi, unable to stop herself, went straight into the maelstrom of boulders.

She bounded off of each boulder, slowly making her way through the storm of rocks as she charged the pink haired girl. She got out of the storm, but noticed that the pink haired girl had moved. That wasn't going to stop Yumi, though, she charged at the pink haired girl, and managed to land a blow on her before she could create another boulder storm.

Only one was left, the black haired girl, and Yumi began to run at her. But before she could attack, there was a blur of movement and Yumi was knocked aside. She righted herself and landed on her feet a few meters away. Another Konoha ninja had entered the fray. _That's right, _Yumi thought to herself, _there were supposed to be four of them. Three Chuunin and a Jounin._ Yumi was in trouble now, she didn't know how to release the Fifth Gate, and the chakra burst from opening the Third and Fourth Gates was wearing off. _Have to make this count,_ Yumi charged headlong, intending to take out both the Jounin and the Chuunin by knocking the Jounin back into the Chuunin.

"Not quite," the Jounin said. Yumi could see him releasing chakra from his body. She tried to punch him, but the Jounin's chakra stopped the blow, then he started spinning and the spin threw Yumi back. She landed a meter or so away. "You there," the Jounin said, "you're within range of my Hakke." The Jounin took up a stance, then moved. Yumi didn't see anything; all she could remember was being hit multiple times, a lot of times. She lost count at twenty-four blows.

She was sent flying. She tried to turn so that she could land on her feet, but she couldn't move her body. As she hovered in the air, her life flashed before her eyes. Everything, every memory, good and bad, raced before her eyes. The last image that crossed her eyes was Tamima-sensei's face. Yumi felt tears welling up again, and a single thought crossed her mind. "Was I any use at all?"

There was a rough thud-type of sound, and Yumi looked up to see Tamima-sensei's face. Tamima had caught Yumi before she hit the ground.

"Yumi-nee-san (nee-san means sister)," Tamima said, "you did well; I'll take things from here." Yumi blacked out right then.


	25. Out of the Way

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 25: Out of the Way**_

Tamima set Yumi down lightly. Tamima had known the three of them were heading off, and she'd let them go so that she could see how well they'd performed, and they'd done marvelously. The pink haired girl was getting up now, wiping away blood from a burst lip. The Jounin and black haired girl stood confidently.

"You are," the Jounin said, "Nobunaga Tamima, correct?" Tamima's eyes widened as she recognized the Jounin.

"Yeah," she replied, "and you're Hyuga Neji, right?" Neji nodded.

"I'd heard that they'd made you a Jounin," Neji said, "I'm guessing these kids are your subordinates?" Tamima nodded.

"Yeah," she said, "and you won't be getting away with what you did to them." Rock Lee was on his feet now as well. He'd definitely opened the Second Gate in order to restore himself a bit. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to level each and every one of you." The black-haired girl smiled arrogantly.

"You can try," the black-haired girl said, "but you won't win." Gejimayu moved at that moment. He didn't strike right away, instead, he moved at incredibly high speed, changing direction randomly and moving wildly so as to confuse Tamima.

"There's one problem with your movements, gejimayu," Tamima said, as she grabbed Lee's left arm, which had just tried to strike her, "in order to hit me, you have to come at me in a straight line." There was a flicker of movement, and Lee was out cold, for good this time.

"Damn it," Neji said, "I should've known she'd see through that. Tenten, take her down." Tenten nodded and, pulling out one of her scrolls, leapt into the air and sent a rain of weapons straight at Tamima. For a moment, the battle seemed over, but then Neji saw something which shouldn't have been possible. Tamima emitted chakra from her body, and span at incredibly high speed, knocking the weapons back. Tenten landed a meter or so from Tamima, staring completely aghast.

"Too bad," Tamima said, a sly grin sneaking across her face, "the **secret jutsu** of the head family, too bad it's not all that complicated." Neji didn't react to that, since he agreed. If you had the necessary chakra control abilities, the Kaiten was as simple to use as a shuriken. Then Neji saw something that terrified him, "this move though," Tamima said, entering a half crouch and fully extending her arms, "let's see if I can get it right this time. Jyuukenpou: Hakke Rokujyuyonshou," Tamima span, than connected against Tenten, "Hakke Nishou," and then two more, "Yonshou," and still more,  
Hachishou…Jyuurokushou…Sanjyuunishou…" another twist, "**ROKUJYUYONSHOU!**"

Neji stared in disbelief. Not only had the girl known how to perform the technique, she'd done it flawlessly. She's successfully sealed all sixty four Tenketsu on Tenten's body. After a few moments, Neji managed to get some moisture back into his mouth.

"How," he said, "how can you perform that technique, you can't see the Tenketsu."

"No, I can't," Tamima replied, "but I can memorize them," Neji didn't even bother trying to hide his shock at that statement, "all the Tenketsu points were mapped out by ninja scholars years ago. All I had to do was watch you attack twice to know how it worked. I've been studying the Hyuga for several years now, thanks to your father's corpse." Neji froze stiff, "I was able to extract his memories by mixing his brain cells with my paints. They painted quite the image, and image of everything I wanted to know…almost," Neji started to become angry, "the information I was after, the information about the Byakugan, eluded me. The Juinjutsu of the Hyuga is massively powerful, there was no way I was getting the info needed to copy it."

Neji smiled. Although he hated the Juinjutsu seal, he had to admit, it was a life saver, "so," Neji said, "you saw me perform the Hakke at the Chuunin exams, and decided you felt like copying it, so you went home and memorized where all the Tenketsu on the body were. Thanks to my father's memories, you already knew how to wield the Jyuuken, and all that was needed was to see me perform the Hakke at close range so that you could tell which of the sixty four Tenketsu needed to be pressed."

"Yeah," Tamima said, about as nonchalantly as one could get. _This girl_, Neji thought to himself, _is a terrifying different kind of genius. I wonder if I stand a chance against her._


	26. Neji vs Tamima

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

**_Chapter 26: Neji vs. Tamima_**

"Damn," Tamima said to herself, "I can't believe I fluked on the Hakke like that." That was all there really was to it, the Hakke she'd managed to land on Tenten had managed to succeed by sheer fluke. The odds of it working again were fairly low. Now she had a fresh Jounin, who could easily perform the Hakke, and a mildly roughed up Chuunin medic to deal with.

Neji was in a bind, now. At first, he thought Sakura might be useful to have during this fight, but one look at her decidedly irregular chakra flow suggested otherwise. She'd taken a hard blow to the head, and probably had a serious concussion. "Sakura," Neji said, "don't move around much, just lie on the ground and let me handle this." Sakura started to protest, but realized Neji was right. She sat down and watched as Neji began to fight.

Tamima didn't have much time to react; Neji moved in at very high speed and struck at her. Tamima sidestepped, and tried a forearm blow at Neji's head. Neji ducked it, spun, and snapped a kick into Tamima's gut. Tamima staggered a bit but stayed on her feet. She guarded against another attack, making sure Neji's hands never touched her; she didn't need her Tenketsu sealed in this kind of fight.

Taking three steps back, Tamima formed three quick seals with her hands, "Lightning Stream no Jutsu," bolts of lightning arced from Tamima's hands and straight at Neji. Projecting chakra from his body, Neji used Kaiten to guard against the attack. Tamima reacted quickly, pulling several shuriken from her satchel and hurling them at Neji just as he stopped spinning. Neji, unable to use Kaiten momentarily, could only dodge the shuriken, and right into Tamima's next attacks, a hard drop kick to his chest.

Neji landed hard, but sprung to his feet immediately. Tamima moved in for another attack, but Neji countered. "Idiot," he said, "attacking head on," Neji pulled a kunai, and rushed forward and stabbed Tamima in the gut. That's when the Paint Bunshin exploded, and some of the paint got into Neji's eyes.

"Seal," Tamima yelled, from her hiding place two miles down the road. Neji yelled as a searing pain entered his eyes. Tamima covered the distance between her hiding place and the bridge within a few seconds, "don't worry," she said, "that's not a permanent seal. It'll completely wear off in a day or so, although, you'll be able to use Byakugan again before then."

"Damn," Neji said, "how was I not able to tell that that was a Paint Bunshin?"

"Don't feel bad," Tamima said, "the paints that I use are made from my blood, and they have a real inner coils system which is identical to my own, and independent as well. In essence, my Paint Bunshin no Jutsu is far more able than the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Neji cursed to himself a bit. He'd noticed something odd about the opponent he was fighting, but had just ignored it. _See underneath the underneath_, Neji whispered to himself. He couldn't see anything at the moment, but he could hear just fine. Tamima was walking past him toward Sakura. Neji capitalized on her lowered guard.

Tamima turned to guard the attack, and took a few steps back. Neji ended up hitting her right above her left hit, bulls-eyeing the Tenketsu there out of pure luck. Tamima shrieked as her left leg went completely numb, and then buckled. She tried to get back up, but fell over again, this time onto her right leg. She shrieked again as she realized that, while her left leg was completely numb, her right leg was now twice as sensitive.

"Damn it," Tamima said as she tried to stagger to her feet, "I was careless." Managing to get herself up, she staggered over to where Arimaru and Koremaru were helping Yumi up, "we're retreating for now," she said. As they slowly escaped, Neji couldn't help but chuckle a little. _That girl may have improved, _he thought to himself, _but her recklessness is as evident as ever._


	27. Planning

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 27: Planning**_

"Feeling better," Tamima asked Yumi, who was finally waking up, "you've been out for a few hours. I opened the closed Tenketsu with a medical jutsu, but you still needed some sleep to recover from the damage you inflicted on yourself by opening the Gates." Yumi stared a bit, not sure where she was, then groggily got up.

"Where are we," she asked once she'd managed to pull herself together.

"A campsite roughly five miles from the bridge," Tamima said, "unfortunately, I couldn't get past the bridge. That Neji guy managed to get in a lucky shot, a lucky shot which won't work next time."

"Then you have a plan," Arimaru asked.

"Yeah," Tamima said, "but we have to move within the next twelve hours for my plan to work."

A number of hours later, Neji's team was finally recovered from their injuries, although, Sakura was still suffering the effects of her concussion.

"All right," Neji said, "tomorrow will be a major battle, and that Nobunaga girl is the largest threat. Her Paint Bunshins have their own, independent inner coils system, which makes them indistinguishable from the real one, much like the Kage Bunshin." Neji had recovered a bit from the seal. He could open his eyes now, and see a little bit, but he still couldn't use the Byakugan.

"So," Lee said, "what's the plan?"

"Well," Neji started, "we can easily handle the Genin kids, but the Nobunaga girl is a different story," he looked over at Lee, "she's a master of Gouken a lot like you, possibly more so," Lee frowned a bit, "also, because she had access to my father's body, she was able to learn and master the Jyuuken style, and because she's memorized the locations of the Tenketsu, she's a threat on par with a shinobi of the Kage level." Everyone's eyes widened at that.

"Kage level," Tenten whispered, "how do we take on that?"

"I can handle her," Neji said, "they'll make an attempt to cross the bridge in a few hours, so we need to be ready."

A few hours passed, and Neji could finally use Byakugan again. They headed for the bridge, taking it slow as they went. They got there just as Tamima's group, who had arrived only moments before, was only a few meters from the bridge. The Konoha Chuunin quickly surrounded them, and Neji held back a small distance.

"That was careless," Neji said, "you'd have been smarter to….DAMN, Sakura, Tenten, Lee, get out of there." Neji finally realized it.

"The seal will wear off in a day or two, but you'll be able to use your Byakugan again by then," had been what Tamima had said, and she had been right. Neji had not even noticed his entire team was under a Genjutsu cast by Tamima, hadn't even noticed Tamima's chakra was lower than usual, hadn't even seen the Kage Bunshin that had surrounded Neji's team.

"Too late," Tamima said, "Jyuukenpou, Hakke Rokujyuyonshou," and in an instant Neji's team was leveled, except this time, Tamima hadn't succeeded in pressing all sixty-four Tenketsu correctly, and Neji saw this right away.

"I get it," he said, "The last time was a fluke, wasn't it." Tamima smile, then put up her hand to beckon Neji to enter combat, Neji wasn't going to let her draw him in. He got within range, "a game over, Hakke Rokujyuyonshou." The attack landed dead on, all sixty-four of Tamima's Tenketsu pressed. However, when the attack was done, she remained standing. "What," was all Neji could manage to say. Tamima rolled up the sleeve of her uniform to reveal that her arms were covered with odd markings, and the markings were placed over each of the Tenketsu.

"This is my Armor of Paint," Tamima said, "It protects my Tenketsu from your Jyuuken attacks, and also doubles my strength. Good luck fighting me," she said, letting a sly smile cross her face. Neji smiled as well, this was going to be a Hell of a fight.


	28. See Underneath the Underneath

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 28: See Underneath the Underneath…**_

Neji was in trouble. He couldn't attack Tamima's Tenketsu while she was in this state, and attacking her inner coils would kill her. The situation had originally been in his favor, but not so much any more. He had to avoid taking damage for now, and observe Tamima's current condition.

Tamima made the first move. She hadn't been lying when she'd said she was twice as strong as before. As Neji dodged the attack, he closely observed Tamima's Tenketsu. They were wider than normal, allowing chakra to flow out of them more easily. Not only that, but her inner coils were slightly wider as well, allowing chakra to flow more easily though out her body. She was definitely dangerous now.

Tamima came in high with a Jyuuken style blow, which Neji blocked. Then she came in with a low blow aimed at his right hip, Neji sidestepped, and saw an opening. He struck at Tamima's face with his right hand as she lost her balance after missing the last attack. Neji hit, but then Tamima melted. She landed about seven meters back, having barely dodged the attack thanks to Kawarimi.

"Fast," Neji said to himself, "she reacted to my attack within four-tenths of a second. That means her senses have also become stronger. Simply defending will do no good, at this rate, I'll be exhausted before I can find the weak point of this technique."

Tamima studied Neji as she regained her composure. He'd seen a weak point in her offense just then, and it had nearly cost her the fight. She couldn't allow Neji to see through her attacks so easily. She had to move faster, a lot faster. Taking up the Jyuuken stance again, Tamima prepared to charge, but hesitated a bit.

"An opening," Neji told himself. He moved in to strike, and ran right into the Kaiten, which Tamima had been waiting use. Neji landed a few meters away, the wind knocked out of him. "Damn it," he said, "See underneath the underneath. The hesitation was a ruse to draw me within the range of the Kaiten. Damn, I fell for it completely." Neji pulled himself up and dusted himself off. He was in trouble now, he taken a small internal injury from that last attack, and was going to need medical attention within the next few hours if he wanted to avoid permanent damage.

"What's the matter, Neji-kun," Tamima said, panting heavily, "can't handle me?" _Wait, _Neji though to himself, _why is her breathing so heavy, she's barely been doing anything…_ Neji ducked a high kick aimed at his left temple, then jumped over a sweeping kick that Tamima had pulled out thanks to the momentum from the first kick. Neji struck at Tamima's right shoulder, but she back-peddled and dodged the attack. Her breathing was getting heavier than it should be under these circumstances, Neji observed. Something was wrong with her.

Neji snapped a kick at Tamima's stomach, she back-peddled and dodged it as with his attack at her shoulder. Swing his leg around, Neji used the momentum to send himself into a half-crouch and then jumped straight at Tamima with a shoulder tackle maneuver. Again, Tamima merely dodged, but this time Neji saw through it, and brought his left arm around for a striking blow against Tamima's torso. Tamima doubled over and took a number of steps back.

"I see it now," Neji said, "your chakra flow is severely reduced, and you're almost out of chakra." Tamima's eyes widened as she realized her jutsu had been seen through, "while you do double your strength, you do so at the expense of your stamina. You tire out more quickly because you spend chakra more quickly, even if you don't intend to, the widened inner coils and Tenketsu allow more chakra to pass through than you can physically handle. You're through."

"Damn," Tamima said between pants, "you saw through it, too bad I'm not done yet." Tamima reached into her pocket and pulled out a soldier pill, which she took. She dispelled the Armor of Paint and took up a new stance. Neji took the soldier pill that he was carrying in his pocket as well.

"This could take a while," he mused.


	29. The Spinning Death Stance

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 29: The Spinning Death Stance**_

"That stance," Yumi said, "she's actually going to use something that dangerous…"

"What stance is that," Koremaru asked.

"The Spinning Death Stance," Yumi said, "when it comes to Taijutsu, the Nobunaga family generally only learns the common types: Jujutsu, Hapkido, Kenpou, and Karate. But, there are two Taijutsu styles that are unique to our family, and one of them is the Spinning Death Stance."

"Yes, I've heard of it," Arimaru said, "but that's it, I know nothing of the actual technique."

"The technique" Yumi said, "is spinning at high speed without becoming dizzy." Yumi placed her forefinger on her head, right above her left ear, "within the inner ear are four semi-circular, fluid filled canals. When you're spinning, it causes these fluids to move around. When you stop spinning, these fluids will keep moving due to inertia. This is what causes dizziness. The Spinning Death Stance uses chakra to stop those fluids at the same time as you stop spinning," Yumi looked over at Tamima.

Tamima had both arms sticking straight out to either side, and her right leg forward of the left by about six inches. Her head was bowed slightly, so that she was essentially looking up at Neji.

"That looks like the crane stance," Koremaru said.

"Yes," Yumi said, "the Spinning Death is a derivative of the Crane Stance. Because the leg is not lifted of the ground, it allows for more fluid reactions, although it lacks speed and force."

"Why is it called **Spinning Death**," Arimaru asked.

"The actual attacking is done while spinning wildly," Yumi explained, "the Spinning Death Stance uses the momentum of the flailing limbs to cause intense blunt force damage, much like the Gouken Style. However, there's more too it now. Because Tamima is skilled in Jyuuken as well, she could easily perform an alteration of Jyuuken simultaneously while using Spinning Death."

"That Neji guy is in trouble," Koremaru said.

Tamima took a step forward, and then began her spin, spinning clockwise. Her right arm struck at Neji, but he blocked the attack easily. Unfortunately, his block couldn't stop the momentum in Tamima's left arm, which came up and belted Neji in the back of the head. Neji stumbled but quickly regained himself. Tamima came in again with the Spinning Death, and Neji used Kaiten to block. Bingo. Both attacks spun the same direction, and cancelled each other out, and now, Neji had an opening. He struck at Tamima, aiming for her now unprotected Tenketsu, but instead hit a Kawarimi.

Tamima now stood back a few meters, one of her scrolls in her hand. "Damn it all," she said, "I had no idea that the Kaiten would cancel my spin. Damn, I'll have to alter the scales in my favor." She reached into her satchel and slit her finger on one of her kunai. She opened the scroll and spread the blood from the cut across the text. "Sorry for not fighting you directly, Neji," she said, "but I don't think I can beat you any other way," she placed the scroll onto the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

Neji watched as some kind of creature appeared beneath the ground and started toward him. He didn't know what it was, but he was going to have a hard time dealing with the thing if it was underground…


	30. Outmatched

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 30: Outmatched**_

Neji watched as the creature beneath the ground slowly approached him. The surface of the ground itself remained undisturbed, but Neji's Byakugan allowed him to see through the ground and view the creature thanks to its inner coils system. The Byakugan also allowed Neji to watch Tamima simultaneously. However, fighting two people at the same time would still prove difficult.

Right as Neji was about to move, the creature moved at him with lightning speed and burst from the ground. All Neji saw was teeth has he leapt out of the creature's reach. "An alligator," Neji mumbled, "interesting choice in summoning animal." The alligator quickly went back underground. It was apparent that the gator could move at high speed under the ground.

"Interesting choice in animals," Neji said, watching as the gator slowly approached his position, "this is going to be far harder than I thought." The gator charged Neji again, this time he dodged around its attack, but now Tamima attacked as well. Neji blocked, side stepped to avoid the gator, and then snapped a kick at Tamima. Tamima took the kick in the stomach, and backed up a bit.

"Tamima," the gator said, in his unusually regal voice, "I don't think we can beat this guy, those eyes of his see everything, surprise is impossible. Further more; those attacks of his could kill you very easily."

"I know that already," Tamima said, "but we stand more of a chance if we attack simultaneously. He can't fight you if you keep attacking from beneath the ground." The gator, Kuwabara, tilted his head toward Tamima, as if to give her an annoyed glance, then he tilted it back toward Neji. A few seconds later, he was back beneath the ground.

Neji took a few steps back. Tamima was right; she could win if she and the gator attacked simultaneously. He couldn't defend against an attack from beneath the ground, nor could he really stop Tamima. His chances of winning were pretty low, really low, honestly. It wouldn't be long before Tamima managed to beat him down just as she managed to beat down the rest of his team.

The attacks persisted for the next few minutes, and Neji was quickly losing stamina, his odds of holding her off much longer were close to one-in-three-hundred-thirty, or somewhere around there. His exhaustion was clouding his thoughts, and he was beginning to have a hard time calculating his movements. Something had to happen, and soon.

"Hey," a haggard voice said from behind Tamima, "why don't you fight me now, huh?" Neji looked up and saw that Lee had managed to pull himself to his feet, he chuckled a bit, "I think, maybe, I may be able to give you a better fight than Neji can."

"Lee, you fool," Neji yelled, "don't try to fight in your condition, you'll be killed."

"Neji, do you remember the time when you fought Naruto-kun," Lee said, "he was able to reopen his sealed Tenketsu by flooding them with chakra. I think I can do the same."

"You're going to release the Gates," Neji said, disbelief filling his tone, "don't, you nearly ruined yourself last time!"

"I've become a lot smarter since then," Lee said, "I won't wind up in the same condition as before." Chakra began to surround Lee, as he started releasing the gates, "Tamima-san, forgive my rudeness, but I must interrupt your fight with Neji. **THIRD GATE, LIFE GATE, RELEASE!**"


	31. Change of Fortunes

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 31: Change of Fortunes**_

"Man, you guys are merciless," Tamima said, glancing between Neji and Lee, "man, there goes my advantage." Tamima took a defensive stance, but she already knew she wasn't going to win. She was beyond outmatched in this fight, even with Kuwabara helping her, but she still needed to buy some time….

"She's not acting quickly enough," Neji said, "we're missing something here." Lee nodded. The chakra burst was nearly dissipated, but he could now access his normal chakra flow again (although it was slightly diminished now, since he opened the Life Gate).

"We can take her down, now," Lee said, "we could do it easily." He could feel that the burst of chakra had merely reopened his Tenketsu, and the effort required to do that had diminished the chakra burst. Now he could fight at his normal capacity, although slightly less than usual. However, even that was more than enough to defeat Tamima.

"You're in trouble," Kuwabara said, tilting his head to glance between the two Leaf ninja, "you'll need more than just me at your side to defeat these guys."

"I know," Tamima said, "but all we need to do is stall for a little bit longer."

"Lee," Neji said, "we've missed something, and we missed it bad."

"That's not an issue," Lee said, "it'll be over before she can try anything else."

"You can go, Kuwabara," Tamima said, "I'll handle it from here." The alligator nodded and vanished, Tamima turned toward the Leaf ninja, "sorry boys, but you won't beat me very easily." _All I need to do is release the First Gate, that should be enough to hold them off for as long as I need_, Tamima said to herself. She released the gate and charged Neji and Lee.

Tamima was surprised by the two ninja's quick reaction speed. They managed to block most of her attacks and kept on coming. It wasn't long before Tamima was spent, and Neji and Lee began to move. Too bad their time was up. There was a flare in the distance, and Neji caught it in his Byakugan.

"What the," Neji said, using his Byakugan to find the source. He saw it and froze. The flare had been launched by Tamima's Genin, who had crossed the river and were now half way to Konohagakure. "Wait," Neji turned toward Tamima, and finally saw it. The three Genin in front of him were Paint Bunshins that had used Henge no Jutsu to take the shape of her students.

"Sorry boys," Tamima said, "but I win. Third Gate, Life Gate, Release." Tamima released the Life Gate and ran right past the two shinobi, who had been significantly weakened by her sudden barrage of attacks. It was over, Tamima had outpaced them.

"She improved that much in a month," Neji said, "I'm impressed."

"To think," Lee said, "all this was just a ploy to focus your attention away from what was happening everywhere else. That girl is a terrible different kind of genius."

"Yeah," Neji said, he then turned toward Tenten and Sakura, who were pulling themselves up now, "perhaps we should give them a hand…"


	32. Urani Souma

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

**_Chapter 32: Urani Souma_**

"Ah, Konohagakure," Tamima said to her Genin, "we're here at-**GET DOWN!**" Tamima yanked her three students to the ground as they barely managed to dodge the barrage of kunai and shuriken hurled at them from the tree line. Before they could get up, they were completely surrounded by Konoha Jounin.

"Well, I guess you're in trouble," one of the Konoha Jounin, which Tamima recognized as Sharingan Kakashi, "your friend in town was caught by our ANBU. He put up a Hell of a fight though. Anyway, I'll be taking that scroll."

"Damn, just my luck," Tamima said, turning back to look down the road she'd come from. The four shinobi from the bridge were finally caught up with her team. Outnumbered, surrounded and overpowered. Trouble was an understatement. Her team was as good as dead.

"You're going to resist," a new voice said. Tamima turned to see Konoha's Fifth Hokage had stepped into their midst as well.

"Wow," Tamima said, "when did I get so popular?"

"After the show you put on at the Kumo Chuunin Exam," the Hokage said, "sorry, but we're not taking any chances with you."

Tamima smiled at that. It was strangely fun to be mega popular, but it wouldn't last. If the feeling she was getting was right, she and her team were about to have an amazing rescue. Too bad for the Konoha shinobi didn't have that feeling, except for the Hokage, who suddenly looked very unsettled.

"What's the matter," Tamima said, remembering the story she'd been told, "Did that long haired guy die?" The Hokage's eye widened with a mixture of fear and rage.

"Why you…" the Hokage started.

"That's enough," yet another voice said, "you Konoha ninjas are in enough trouble as it is." The Konoha ninjas all took a step back as Tamima's former Jounin instructor, Urani Souma, suddenly appeared on the scene.

"Who are you," Sharingan Kakashi asked, "Hokage-sama who….Hokage-sama?" The Hokage stood frozen, a look of pure fear in her eyes.

"Oh, it's you," Souma said to the Hokage, "did that long haired guy die?" The Hokage took a step back. The Konoha ninjas watched the newcomer closely. Then they started to move, and froze. All at, once they had images of their horrifying deaths at the hands of the newcomer flash through their minds, and then suddenly, it was over, and none of them were actually harmed.

"That was a mistake," Souma said, "none of you can beat me."

"Nobody try anything," the Hokage said, "This is the man that destroyed the Shisougakure (Hidden Thought) Village."

"You mean," Kakashi muttered, fighting his turning stomach, "Urani Souma?"

"Tamima," Souma said, turning to Tamima, "I have something to discuss with the Konoha. You go into town and find an inn to spend the night at. We have a dire mission that needs tending to.


	33. Urani Souma, Part 2

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 33: Urani Souma, Part 2**_

Souma escorted the Hokage back to her office. Tsunade had managed to regain her composure by then, but was still unsettled by being in the presence of Urani Souma, who had murdered her lover, Dan. That battle had been a nightmare. Back then, Tsunade and Jiraiya had still been teammates with Orochimaru, and the three of them together had been like a twig in the road to Souma.

Tsunade glanced at Souma. He was doing the same thing she was doing, hiding his age with a jutsu. He appeared to be in his late twenties, but Tsunade knew he was at least fifty. She felt a bit humbled in his presence. Tsunade had started her career as a ninja at the age of six; Souma had started his career at age five. By seven, he was a Jounin. At eight, he fought with Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, and won (but had been too exhausted to finish Sakumo off).

At twelve, which was when Tsunade had met him, he was an established Jounin and even led a team of Genin. When Tsunade had met him, Souma had managed to fight to a draw against the Third Hokage. And then, back during the wars, he'd fought three on one against Tsunade's team, and trampled them completely. He then killed Dan and destroyed Shisougakure Village. And several years ago, he'd supposedly been defeated by the Fourth Hokage (but obviously survived). He had a horrifying power that very few people had ever seen.

Tsunade had heard a number of rumors about him during her travels after she'd left Konoha. She'd heard that Souma was known to fight small armies using only the most basic jutsu. It was rare that he ever used anything beyond academy level ninjutsu (Kawarimi, Bunshin and Henge), intermediate level taijutsu, and he never used genjutsu.

"What is it," Souma asked, not even turning his head to look at her, "why are you staring at me?"

"You know damn well why," Tsunade said, "after what you did? How can I not stare? If had the strength, I would've killed you the instant I saw you."

"So you haven't improved at all, then," Souma said, in his strange monotone voice, "well, I haven't improved all that much either. Then again, I have very little room left for me to improve."

"Shut up," Tsunade said, "you're in my country now, you should have more respect."

"Then I'll just ask you now," Souma said, finally turning toward Tsunade, "my team of Genin were killed on a patrol mission. I wasn't able to arrive in time to save them, but I was able to arrive in time to kill their murderers. They were Leaf ninjas, and I checked my files, and they're registered as active members of the Konoha organization. Why were your shinobi in my country, and if you don't answer honestly, I'll destroy this village."

"What are you talking about," Tsunade said, rather annoyed, "I haven't assigned any missions where the active field is within the Lightning Country. Do you have the names of the ninjas that attack your genin?" Souma handed Tsunade a list of three names, Tsunade looked over it and started.

"Ah, so that's it," Tsunade said, holding the piece of paper so that Souma could see the names, "these three are deserters, missing-nins. Our ANBU have been after them for months. These three are part of a group of thirteen missing-nins from our village. The last report from our ANBU search parties said that they'd joined forces with a large group of missing-nins from your village, and Sunagakure (Hidden Sand) Village.

Souma snatched the list, then produced a scroll from his satchel and opened it. "Hmm, seems I didn't read this quite right before," Souma said, "our hunter-nins have been after an organization with a similar description to this one, as well as trying to track down the Akatsuki…"

"Perhaps we could help each other," Tsunade said, letting a sly grin cross her face.

"Perhaps," Souma said, "but I'll have to discuss this with my students…I mean, the Rokudaime and Nanadaime before we do anything official."


	34. The New Mission

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 34: The New Mission**_

A week or so later, Tamima's team finally returned to Kumogakure. Tamima felt a bit nervous returning to town. In only two weeks, the seal she'd placed on the Seventh Raikage would fade enough so that he could once again use the All Seeing Eye, and it made her uneasy. Souma knew this as well, but he was unconcerned.

"Tamima," Souma said, "your team will be placed on leave for as long as this new mission lasts. You need to report to the Raikage's office within the next hour for the briefing."

"Why me," Tamima asked.

"Because," Souma said, "I'll be sending the strongest shinobi of the village on this mission, and you're one of them." Tamima nodded and sent her Genin on their way. She went to her own home and cleaned herself up, grabbing her "official" Jounin uniform and putting it on. She made sure her forehead protector was nice and shiny and headed toward the Raikage's office. She got there with about ten minutes to spare.

When she got there, she was quickly introduced to the people who would be her teammates: Hibiya Mokoto and Seta Zatoichi, both of whom were former students of Souma (just like Tamima). She was a bit relieved. She'd heard stories about Mokoto. She was a powerful Jounin who was at first trained by Souma, but then by the Seventh Raikage. She supposedly a specialist in Kugutsu (puppet) no Jutsu.

Then there was Seta Zatoichi, the man who was considered the most dangerous ninja of Kumogakure. While he lacked the incredible abilities of Urani Souma, he bore numerous secret and forbidden jutsu. Plus, he bore the mythical "Kiba no Kirin" (Fang of Kirin), a powerful sword that was said to have incredible powers. He was also credited with defeating the Fourth Hokage in one on one combat (although, Zatoichi often denied the victory).

"All right," Souma said, speaking for the two Raikage, "our new mission is tracking down some missing-nins."

"What," Mokoto said, "that's hunter-nin work. Why are we being pushed onto this?"

"Because," Souma said, "the missing-nins that we're chasing have allied themselves with missing-nins from Sunagakure and Konohagakure. As per an agreement made with the Hokage and Kazekage, the three villages will be dispatching their strongest Jounin to deal with this new threat in an allied effort."

"Who's on the other teams," Zatoichi asked.

"Konohagakure is sending out Hatake Kakashi, Maito Gai, Mitarishi Anko, and the Fifth Hokage's apprentice, Shizune," Souma said, "we haven't received the list from Suna yet."

"Hatake Kakashi," Zatoichi said, "I've met him before. Should be interesting to be fighting on the same side as him."

"I knew his father," Souma said, "and if he's even half as strong as Sakumo, then we've got a powerful ally in this mission."

"What about the other three," Mokoto said, "what about them?"

"I've also met Maito Gai and Mitarishi Anko," Zatoichi said, "they're quite powerful. And Shizune is supposed to be a skilled medical ninja."

"Also," Souma said, "Mitarishi Anko was a student of Orochimaru, and is skilled in numerous forbidden jutsu. She should be a great aid in this mission."

"All right," the Sixth Raikage said, "the mission begins tomorrow. The Kumo team will be Hibiya Mokoto, Nobunaga Tamima, Seta Zatoichi and Urani Souma."


	35. Suna

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 35: Suna**_

Souma's team moved at high speed through the woods. They'd left Kumogakure almost a week earlier, and were now at the border of the Fire country. They were following a lead they'd heard in a small village just outside of Kumogakure. It wasn't long before they arrived at their destination.

"Well, well," Souma said, "Suna beat us to the punch."

Ahead were four Suna ninjas, surrounded by a number of enemy ninjas. They seemed a bit unconcerned considering their situation, but that didn't surprise Souma. He'd fought members of every ninja village on the continent, and Suna ninjas always gave him the hardest time. They had the odd ability to win when they absolutely had to, or when they were completely outmatched.

"Ah," I recognize these guys," Mokoto said, pointing at the Suna ninjas, "the blonde girl and kabuki looking guy are Temari and Kankuro of the sand, they're siblings of the Kazekage. They guy whose face is covered is names Baki, and the fourth guy is Yuura, the most powerful Jounin in Suna. I've fought Kankuro on a mission; he uses puppets, same as me. Damn good at it too."

"I see," Souma said, "I've met Yuura, he's got a good deal of power." Souma watched for a moment. The ninjas that surrounded the Suna group were Kumo ninjas, but they all looked identical. Kage Bunshins, no doubt. The real one was probably watching from a safe distance. "Zatoichi, find the real one and…speak with him. I want him alive, though, so make sure he can't silence himself."

Zatoichi nodded and took off. Meanwhile, the Suna ninjas below were busy fighting the Kage Bunshins. It was four on thirty, at least, but the Suna ninjas were winning, easily. There were roughly five left when the Kage Bunshins suddenly disappeared. Zatoichi had found the real guy, he was quickly dragged into Souma's presence, his arms cut off.

"Well," Kankuro said as he strolled up to the Kumo ninjas, "this is what you were up to." He waved at Mokoto, who returned the wave with a smile.

"You took his arms off," Temari said, "what are you gonna break during the torture session, now?"

"Whatever can be broken," Souma said, smiling wickedly, "or, nothing at all, if he decides to cooperate." The guy immediately cracked.

"They're in the Storm Country," he babbled, "I swear, that's where all the bosses were headed."

"Thanks," Souma said, "anything else you think we should know?" The guy shook his head. "Too bad," Souma said. They guy was then beheaded by Zatoichi, and Souma quickly set it on fire. "Sorry pal, but you would've been executed anyway."

"Still," Temari said, "that was a bit harsh."

"He would've bleed to death before we could get him back to Kumo, anyway," Souma said, "come on, we need to go find the Konoha ninjas."


	36. Konoha

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 36: Konoha**_

"Spread out," Souma said, "the Konoha ninjas are nearby." Tamima's team dispersed. It had been a few days since her team had met up with the Suna ninjas, and they'd parted ways for a while to try and find the Konoha group, which were proving to live up to their reputation as the best ninjas available.

It was proving to be a fairly large irritation. Tamima was started to get annoyed when the muffled sounds of a fight in the distance caught her attention. Turning her direction, she headed north toward where she heard the sounds. She arrived just in time to avoid getting her head lopped off by a flying kunai.

She backpedaled and ran into one of the Konoha Jounin. A woman with dark hair and what looked like medical gear on her belt. Tamima smiled and saluted.

"You scared me," the woman, who was probably Shizune, said, "Why don't you watch where you're falling?"

"Why don't you not stand where I'm falling," Tamima replied jestingly, "anyway, what's the situation," Tamima asked, quickly activating her beacon to show that she'd found the Konoha group. A beep came over Tamima's earphone as acknowledgement.

"It's one of the defectors from my village," Shizune said, "he's pretty tough, too. A former ANBU, probably his advice that helped this organization avoid the tracking parties. Kakashi-san is fighting him right now, but it's fairly even." An explosion nearby caught Tamima's attention as Kakashi and the rouge Konoha ninja came within view.

The enemy was no slouch. It is said that Kakashi is one of the most skilled ninja of all Konoha, but even he was having a hard time against this guy. Tamima thought about stepping, but then thought better. Kakashi had enough to worry about right now, and having Tamima try to help him would only hinder him.

The rouge ninja made a move, he used a massive fireball technique that was fairly similar to the Uchiha's Goukakyuu no Jutsu, but it seemed less effective. This was the opening Kakashi needed. When the fireball disappeared, Kakashi was gone.

"A Doton jutsu," Tamima muttered beneath her breath, "Doton, Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu. This won't last much longer." Indeed, Kakashi burst out of the ground, his palm ablaze with chakra. "What jutsu is that," Tamima said to herself. Kakashi missed the attack by a few inches, but it caused his opponent to stagger.

Kakashi capitalized on the opening and came back with the attack. This time, he hit is mark, ripping a hole in his enemy's torso. That was when the Kage Bunshin dispersed. Kakashi cursed and glanced around quickly. He needed to find where the real body was. Tamima took a quick glance around, but she couldn't see anything. She needed Zatoichi's eyes, he could see through Bunshin techniques.

Tamima's com beeped in her ear. She checked her beacons, Zatoichi was closest. Lucky for her. She got on the com and informed Zatoichi of the situation, to which he replied with a simple "I'll handle it." Kakashi was still looking around when Zatoichi entered the clearing. Kakashi looked a bit surprised to see Zatoichi, but then was glad he was around.

Zatoichi glanced around for a moment, then point toward the east. Kakashi headed north to circle around, while Zatoichi went straight toward the real body. The strategy was plenty effective. The rouge ninja was too concerned with Zatoichi to notice Kakashi come up from the north. The guy fell to the ground with a hole in his chest.

"That worked well enough," Kakashi said, "anyway, I guess I wasn't really expecting you here, Zatoichi-danna."

"Such respect, do I really deserve it," Zatoichi said, "oh well, we'll wait for the others to get here, and then move out."


	37. In to the Lion's Den

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

**_Chapter 37: In to the Lion's Den_**

"So," Gai said, "do we know who the leader of this group is?" He was referring to the group of rouge ninjas from Suna, Konoha and Kumo. "Or are we completely in the dark?"

"Not completely," Souma said, "Before I killed him, I was able to get some information from one of the ninjas that killed my Genin students," everyone turned their attention to him, "the group is led by a ninja, a survivor of the Shisougakure village. His name, or at least his nickname, is Hasami Shishi."

Kakashi turned his gaze toward Souma, "I thought that that entire village was destroyed…by you," he said to Souma. Souma glanced at Kakashi and then back toward the campfire.

"I destroyed the village, yes," Souma said, "but that doesn't mean I killed everyone that lived in it." Kakashi's visible eye narrowed.

"We received reports," Kakashi said, "that Kumo ninjas were seen hunting down and terminating Shisou ninjas after the village was destroyed."

"Kakashi," Souma said, putting an edge into his voice, "would you like to know the horrifying crimes your father committed, or are we going to let this issue rest?"

"How dare you," Shizune said, "how can you…?"

"That's enough, Shizune," Kakashi said, "our village is no less guilty of war crimes than other villages. My father murdered an entire village to be sure a certain secret of Konoha did not become common knowledge." Most of the ninja's present stared wide eyed at Kakashi, Baki of Suna and Souma were the only ones not surprised.

"In either case," Souma said, "our hunter nins have ascertained a possible location of the enemy base… Sort of…."

"You mean," Yuura of Suna said, "that you can guess the general area where the base is located based on where you lost contact with your hunter nins." Souma nodded. "Where is this area," Yuura asked.

"Within the Earth country," Souma said, "we have permission from the Tsuchigakure village to move within their territory… mostly because these missing nins have been terrorizing their patrols."

"We'd better get moving," Yuura said, "we can't keep our quarry waiting now, can we?"

A few days passed, and the group was within the Earth country. After a brief meeting with Tsuchi hunter nins, the group moved deeper into the country until they reached the area where the Kumo hunter nins had been disappearing.

"Do you feel that," Yuura said quietly one evening.

"Intention to murder," Kakashi said, "someone has their sites set on our group."

"I'll handle it," Mokoto said, sifting around in her cloak and pulling out a scroll, "I noticed him earlier, but I wasn't sure if their intentions were directed at us." She opened the scroll and on it the word "inu" was scribed. There was a puff of smoke and a large, wolf man looking puppet appeared.

"That's the…" Kankuro stammered….

"Yes, the Nanadaime Raikage's most prized of puppets," Mokoto said, "Inujin…"


	38. Inujin

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 38: Inujin**_

Mokoto took a long look around. Most of the others had taken cover while she handled the fight. She'd used the Inujin before, but it was difficult for her. It was originally designed to be a puppet that was controlled from inside, with the puppet acting as armor to protect the puppeteer. Unfortunately, Mokoto was a small bit larger than the Seventh Raikage, and couldn't fit into the small space inside the puppet (she liked to joke that it was because of her large bust since it seemed to get the attention of the men around the village).

As such, she could only operate the puppet from outside. But she had a method to protect herself besides that. If she got in serious trouble, she could resort to that (even if it meant restricting her vision slightly). At the moment though, that wasn't necessary. Her target was louder than thunder, and almost as annoying.

"Inujin is a very different puppet than the ones I use," Kankuro whispered to Temari, who was right next to him, "I use apparatus puppets, puppets that have various hidden traps and weapons that are used to kill the enemy via poisoning or bleeding them to death. The Inujin, however," he pointed at the puppet, "is a 'tengu' puppet, a puppet designed to brawl. They're simpler… easier to control, and harder to stop."

Mokoto backed up against a tree and closed her eyes, channeling her sense of sight through the chakra threads, she could see through the Inujin's eyes. She then started the puppet toward her first target. She made sure to move the puppet as quietly as possible, she quickly found the target.

"Why hello there," the puppet said in Mokoto's voice, she added an alluring tone so as to get her target's attention more easily. As soon as he realized his situation, Mokoto had the Inujin slash his throat. Her target collapsed, holding his throat with both hands, trying vainly to keep his blood in his body. Mokoto finished him by driving the Inujin's claws into his forehead.

"One down," Mokoto muttered to herself, she than quickly pulled the puppet back to her own position, and just in time. The puppet returned and deflected the attack that was aimed at Mokoto. Mokoto then sent the puppet toward her attacker. The shinobi stared blankly at the puppet before it drove its fist through his chest. "Two down."

Mokoto looked around for a few minutes with her own eyes. She could sense a third target, but she couldn't find him. She glanced around, up…and then down. Mokoto immediately jumped into the nearby tree in order to get off the ground. It was, after all, the only place she couldn't monitor. The third target was underground, and beyond her reach. Mokoto pulled the Inujin into a nearby tree, and realized that it was slightly heavier than usual. A trap had been planted on it.

Mokoto couldn't bring the puppet back to her position, so she freed her left hand from controlling the Inujin and pulled out a second scroll. She quickly opened it and summoned one of her custom puppets. Designed to look like a samurai, Mokoto instructed the puppet to draw its sword. She then sent it to the ground while she searched, from a distance, for where the trap had been placed on the Inujin.

There was a shudder in the chakra thread, and Mokoto tugged with her middle finger instinctively. A yelp from below drew Mokoto's attention, and she looked down to see that she had managed to kill the third target by accident. Lucky for her.


	39. Zatoichi, the Divine Blade

_**In the Hidden Clouds**_

_**Chapter 39: Zatoichi, the Divine Blade**_

"Is that it," Gai said, pointing toward a small castle in the distance, "Shishi's fortress?"

"Looks like it," Souma said, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand, "looks like it's heavily guarded, though."

"Troops or traps," Yuura asked.

"I see five shinobi," Souma said, "Seta would likely be able to see more, if there are more. Traps are an obvious issue."

"I can deal with the traps," Tamima said, "I could clear a safe path of travel straight for he fortress," she pointed off into the distance, "problem is, they'll know when the traps go off, and I can't fight off five Jounin level ninja while I'm trying to find traps."

"I'll send Seta with you, then," Souma said, pressing the button on his com to signal Zatoichi. After a brief conversation, Zatoichi acknowledged his orders and Tamima set off. She only made about three hundred meters before one of her Paint Bunshins triggered a trap. The game was on. Tamima started moving quicker, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to avoid the pursuers for very long.

Once she managed to trigger the twenty fourth or so trap, two of the pursuers managed to catch up. Zatoichi was on top of them in an instant. Without saying anything, Zatoichi took a kunai in his hand and made a calculated slash at the first enemy shinobi. The small blade ripped right through the enemy ninja's flak jacket and into his chest, shredding the vital muscles and arteries. He fell over and began to bleed to death.

The next guy didn't go down so easily. No longer with surprise on his side, Zatoichi had to draw his tertiary blade, a short sword that he'd found in an old ruins. With the blade in hand, he now stood a better chance against the seven men bearing down on his position. He quickly dispatched the man in front of him with a slashing swing which popped his head off.

The seven other men were going to be a bit harder to deal with. The first two that showed up were definitely worthy of the title "Jounin," and proved to be a hassle to get rid of. Zatoichi got rid of the first one with a thrusting blow that pierced his enemy's heart. The third, fourth and fifth enemies showed up around then. Zatoichi backpedaled to put some space between him and the group, forcing them to approach him.

He had a problem now, though. The last two enemy ninjas were quickly approaching Tamima's position. He had to be rid of these guys, and fast. He channeled chakra into the sword and made his move. He quickly cut three of the enemy shinobi down with the chakra imbued sword (which could now cut through most things). He still had to deal with the last one, who was proving to be a rather speedy bastard.

Once the last guy was taken care, Zatoichi made a b-line for Tamima's position. He could see that she was fighting the other two, and holding her own, but she wouldn't last all that much longer. He arrived on the scene, taking everyone by complete surprise, and cut down both of the enemy shinobi rather quickly.

"Damn it, you are so late," Tamima said.

"At least I arrived," Zatoichi said with a shrug.


End file.
